Letter from Marx: On Popularization & the Steep Paths of Theory
Posted by Mike E on January 20, 2009
Marx and Engels at work together
I have been thinking for day about a conversation I had with L. about our Kasama site. L. was pointing out that some of the theoretical discussion on Kasama was challenging, even overwhelming. And that to some readers the point (of specific discussions and specific theoretical issues) are often not clear.
There are many things involved. Here are some of the challenges we are facing:
- How do we deepen the theoretical work of reconception, so that we reach beyond initial discussion to works of new creative summation? (Yes, I think our main problem is how to deepen as we push ahead….)
- How do we conduct theoretical discussion in ways that both truly at the level needed, yet are as accessible as possible?
- How do we incorporate into our theoretical work the insights, questions, experiences and study conducted by the many people involved in generating a new revolutionary movement?
- How do we raise an understanding among revolutionaries of the importance of theory — especially in a period where existing theory is showing its age and exhaustion, where there is no leading organization or center, and no clear basis worked out yet for forming one?
The task of reconceiving as we regroup is not something done “to the side,” or in a way that simply overlaps with our work of political “exposure” — it has its own demands, pace and language.
In thinking about this, I was drawn back to the following brief letter from Karl Marx which drives home one sharp point. (thanks again to Marx2Mao and Louis Althusser who starts his own work on Marxist methodology quoting this piece.)
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Carl Davidson said
Yes, think of our theoretical work as the ‘high country’ of the mind. The climb up is tough, but the view is terrific once you get there. And more important than the view is climbing down and putting the ideas to work, and then taking the climb all over again.
Stiofan said
The “steep climb” confronting Kasama readers are not just the sophistication of the debate but also the incredible quantity of the excellent material being posted. To the initiated, or even the more methodical, reading and reflecting on the articles for even a brief time soon finds that it is old news as the debates move on.
Communist movements of the past were sometimes characterized as the “university of the working class.” It was in reading and studing theoretical material and taking part in debates/writing articles and letters, that many workers received an education beyond the rudiments of public school. I thoroughly depend on Kasama for analysis and a sense of where the revolutionary movement in the US needs to go. However, many of the issues raised here are the starting points for debates that need to to tested and reflected on both individually and collectively. Further discussion at the deep, transformative level Mike envisions would be aided by broadening the discussion in forums and venues not limited to a single site. The site itself would be enriched as these reflections and summation of practice then work themselves up from an expanding base engaged in practical application.
Since I have begun reading materials here I am more and more able to see that the luminous summit is real and within the grasp of an American revolutionary movement. We can get there although I am sure that many on the climb will not necessarily be posting.
lunita said
this dilemma is real. theoretical works are a magnificent challenge for all, and especially those with little or no literacy, for whom revolutionary theories remain inaccessible! we need to break this dichotomy down.