Karl Marx, letter to Arnold Ruge, September 1843.
Apologies for the long citation, but this is good stuff.
"Nothing prevents us, then, from tying our criticism to the criticism of politics and to a definite party position in politics, and hence from identifying our criticism with real struggles. Then we shall confront the world not as doctrinaires with a new principle" "Here is the truth, bow down before it!" We develop new principles to the world out of its own principles. We do not say to the world: Stop fighting; your struggle is of no account. We want to shout the true slogan of the struggle at you." We only show the world what it is fighting for, and consciousness is something the world must acquire, like it or not.
=====> "The reform of consciousness consists only in enabling the world to clarify its consciousness, in waking from its dreams about itself, in explaining to it the meaning of its own actions. <====== Our whole task can consist only in putting religious and political questions into self-conscious human form -- as is also the case in Feuerbach's criticism of religion.
"Our motto must therefore be: Reform of consciousness not through dogmas, but through analyzing the mystical consciousness, the consciousness which is unclear to itself, whether it appears in religious or political form. Then it will transpire that the world has lng been dreaming of something that it can acquire if only it becomes conscious of it. It will transpire that it is not a matter of drawing a great dividing line between past and future, but of carrying out the thoughts of the past. And finally, it will transpire that mankind begins no new work, but consciously accomplishes its old work.
"So we can express the trend of our journal in one word: the work of our time to clarify to itself (critical philosophy) the meaning of its own struggle and own desires. This is work for the world and for us. It can only be the work of joint forces. It is a matter of confession, no more. To have its sins forgiven mankind has only to declare them for what they are."
-- Marx to Ruge, translated by Ronald Rogowski for Robert Tucker's "Marx-Engels Reader", where it is titled, "For a Ruthless Criticism of Everything Existing".
Chris Brooke voiceoftheturtle.org