Lbird
I have made this suggestion once before and I really think its time that you considered it. Stop writing these short, continuous and very ‘repetitive’ interventions in discussions for a while and write something more ‘substantial’ that puts together and explains your ideas more clearly and in ‘more detail’.
I would honestly be interesting to read something that actually articulated in greater depth what you are trying to say but all these repeated ASSERTIONS that Marx was an idealist materialist and that Engels was something or other totally different are ‘thoroughly unconvincing’ and in my opinion ‘absurd’.
So you don’t accept the idea of decadence. Fair enough, I dont think that’s a problem in the sense that views of what capitalism is, class society, role of the state, the Labour Party, the TUs are more significant to find common ground on.
I do think that your views on historical materialism, idealism and class consciousness though are more central to the differences you have with left communism. It’s a discussion that you me and MH had before but you refused to follow the logic of the discussion and simply returned to your original premise when the going got hard.
You seem to believe that just because Marx came up with these wonderful, original ideas (miraculously unrelated to material conditions) then someday somehow all workers will eventually understand. Presumably after you have repeated the same phrases ad nauseum whilst refusing to change your own ideas.
I see no evidence at all of anyone accepting ‘your’ idea that Marx is an ‘idealist-materialist’ or even, what is worse, of anyone understanding what you mean
So, please stop throwing rocks at others and explain what YOU think is the real meaning of what Marx and Engels had to say. Analyse and explain what Marx said about how history and social development works; how you believe the working class comes to class consciousness; what Engels got wrong; why Marx isn’t a historical materialist; where did Marx & Einstein get their ideas from.