Date: Tue, 30 Jul 1996 03:21:03 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Marxism: meat and potatoes questions


>Can anyone describe Marxism for me?  Please don't say "socialism" or
>even "socialism based on the writings of Marx" because we all know
>that socialism predates Marxism, and also that there are any number
>of Marxist, post-Marxist, and neo-Marxist schisms.

That is THE BIG question.  If I could answer that we wouldn't need this list...

Marxism attempts to differientiate itself from other schools of socialism by
using the scientific method.  It trys to discover the laws of history and
then apply them concretly to the present to best understand how to change
the world.
A basic explanation of this is Engels _Socialism: Utopian & Scientific_ or
_The Communist manefesto_.

Besides the study of history (historical materialism) it also has a
philosophy of the world: Dialectical Materailism -- See Anti-Durhring By
Engels for a good exposition.

>What are the primary philosophical differences between democratic
>socialism and Marxism?  

I'm not sure I know what you mean.  You probably are refering to the
differences btwn. Social Democrats (S-D) & marxists.  The S-D parties were
built during the period of the 2nd International from 1889-1914.  They were
mass workers parties founded in the tradition of Marx & engels.  For reasons
that we can go into longer & latter, most S-D parties capitulated in 1914 at
the start of WW1.  Since then S-D could be classified as reformists, seeking
to win reforms under capitalism for the working class (although in the
current period the S-D parties are going through a process of collapse,
disintegration, swinging to the right & becoming "reformists without reforms").

Genuine marxism would accept "democratic socialism".  Marxists fight for a
socialist, planed economy AND workers democracy as opposed to bourgeois
democracy.  The dictatorship of the working class would be a much more
democratic system them today -- All political power in workers councils
(with all parties accepting the system of workers councils participating),
all elected officials on the avg. workers wage, right of recall of all
elected officails, disbanding of teh army instead a armed peoples militia,
etc, etc.  See Lenin _State & Revolution_ for a good summery of workingclass
democracy.  

Obviously this has not been the case in the regimes calling themselves
"socialist".  In fact these regimes were stalinist, based on a planned
economy, but with political power in the hands of the bueracracy.  Again
this is a longer topic --  a good book on this is _The Revolution Betrayed_
By Leon Trotsky.

>What are the goals of Marxism, and how does it intend to reach these
>goals, i.e., what are the acceptable tools for political activism, and
>do Marxists expect to attain their goals without some form of action
>outside the bounds of the elective system?  If not, what form would
>such action take, or be expected to take, eventually?  Organized
>civil disobedience?  Extra-legal seizure of property?  Armed action?
>(And if the latter, in an offensive or purely defensive and reactionary
>capacity?  Give examples of potential scenarios.)

This is a enormous, unlimited question.  There is no 1 answer.  The goals
are:  The Self Emanicipation of the working class and therby man-kind.  This
requires the building of a revolutionary international fighting for world
socislist revolution (democraticly planned economy & workers democracy),
paving the way for the era of communism.

That is, in a very watered down sense, the ends.  What are the means?  That
is a purly tactical question which can only be answered concretly according
to concrete situations.

In a basic form we fight to win state power...how?  It depends on the
objective factors, the substive factorsm, the conciousness of the different
classes, the different layers of the working class, the influence of the
revolutionary forces, etc, etc.

In the US at this point the historical task being poised is the building of
a mass working class party independent of the parties of big bussiness.
This is the most fundemnetal step forward in the class struggle.  It is the
difference btwn, as englrs put it, "A Class-in-itself & a class-for itself",
i.e. the working class exists objectivly regardless of weather they are
concious of it (a class-in-itself).  But at the point when they have there
own political party, they have achieved counciouness of their existence as a
seperate class with different needs & goals then the capitalists, i.e. class
conciousness (class for itself).  Unlike europe & other parts of the world,
in the US this unfortunatly does not exist.  Workers are in a pre-political
state of conciousness.  As marxists (in the US) we have 2 fundemental,
historical tasks infront of us in this period:
a) being the best fighters and builders of a mass working class party
b) building the forces of marxism.

Anyway I hope I've answered some of your questions.  I've taken too much
time & space allready.

--
Philip Locker
New York City
Labor Militant



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