Foundations

Foundations

A Marxist in every epoch must answer a number of questions. What is the foundation of my Marxism? What are the key questions of my epoch? What is the relation between theory and practice? What is the method that flows from the task of the self-emancipation of the working class? What kind of organisation is needed to put the answers of our epoch into reality?

This theoretical project has, as its foundation, the work of Marx. That a Marxist should base herself on the original works and method of Marx should be no surprise. Without his original scaffolding, no revolutionary theoretical construct can emerge to confront the questions of our age and receive moulding from them.

But it must be said, that many both past and present have sought to erect a solid theory on Marx, but when a thousand flowers bloom, the flowers cant always provide support to theory, only to erode and decay their own foundations. Without solid theory, how can we ever hope to wage the battle of class against class with strategy and tactics that will ensure victory?

Surely changing the world is difficult enough.

This theoretical workshop takes the question of “who then came after Marx” seriously. After all, the 20^th century was a century of initial hope, workers’ power, then and the most horrific defeats the class could imagine. The legacy of political defeat had a destabilizing impact on the development of Marxist theory. From contesting the Stalinist intelligentsia’s hegemony to trying to pave a way forward cut off from the wider labour movement Marxist theory suffered.

Interrogation of those who have come after Marx today is what is needed. We should deconstruct the content and conjuncture of each figure. A central question that will be asked, is, do they point a way forward, toward emancipation?

The author of this blog establishes three pillars of revolutionary socialism that must be upheld by anyone proposing to overthrow the existing order of things. They comprise: (1) that the smashing of the state is the essence of revolution; (2) the essence of revolution must unfold on an international scale; (3) socialism must be won from below.

In light of the aforementioned tasks, each figure in the revolutionary movement will be assessed as to how well their theoretical insights contribute to the realisation of such tasks.

But fundamentally, the works of this blog rest on one premise. That is, another, better, liberated, humane, blissful reality is both necessary and possible. Where Gramsci proposed that “pessimism of the intellect, but the optimism of the will,” this blog recognises the need for a thorough going, hardheaded optimism in the face of what this century will bring. No delusion, hard facts are hard facts, but the moment we forgo the possibility of liberation our task ceases. To let this task cease is a crime.