It is impossible to speak seriously about Marxism in the West without incorporating the role of Christianity in each social formation. “Western Marxism has taken a historic distance from the concrete experiences of socialist transition in the Soviet Union, China, Viet Nam, and Cuba.”
I would recommend reading this and sending this to any radlibs/DSA/anarchists you know
While there are good points about purity politics, fetishization of defeat, and the "Christianisation of praxis", the point about the Catholic church is devoid from reality. If it was written 50 years ago it would be correct, but Christianity, both protestant and Catholic, is playing much less of a direct role in people's beliefs than before. Every year in the US and Europe less and less people self identify as Christian, the influence of the church is less than before. There's also the issue that the Catholic church is inherently an institution that would appose any form of revolution, due to the structure of the Vatican and the Pope. Christianity has been used to push reactionary ideas in the west as well, such as discrimination against LGBT people, anti-communism and the "prosperity gospel". There's also the fact that the article makes no mention of the Protestant - Catholic divide, which can be quite substantial at times
Yeah it can be an absolutely massive issue. I once met a evangelical protestant Christian that did not believe that Catholic people were Christian because they "prayed to statues" and that was against the 10 commandments about false idols or something. They actually thought of Catholics as less than human, as demons. It was quite something to be honest
While there are good points about purity politics, fetishization of defeat, and the "Christianisation of praxis", the point about the Catholic church is devoid from reality. If it was written 50 years ago it would be correct, but Christianity, both protestant and Catholic, is playing much less of a direct role in people's beliefs than before. Every year in the US and Europe less and less people self identify as Christian, the influence of the church is less than before. There's also the issue that the Catholic church is inherently an institution that would appose any form of revolution, due to the structure of the Vatican and the Pope. Christianity has been used to push reactionary ideas in the west as well, such as discrimination against LGBT people, anti-communism and the "prosperity gospel". There's also the fact that the article makes no mention of the Protestant - Catholic divide, which can be quite substantial at times
You have a talent for understatement lol
Yeah it can be an absolutely massive issue. I once met a evangelical protestant Christian that did not believe that Catholic people were Christian because they "prayed to statues" and that was against the 10 commandments about false idols or something. They actually thought of Catholics as less than human, as demons. It was quite something to be honest
deleted by creator
deleted by creator
I said I thought that analysis was good, and I agree with it. It's just the part about Catholicism that doesn't make sense