Carrol Cox
Incidentally, I do think Charles's implict assumption as to what one does with Marxism is wrong, and I've debated him on this point in the past. He seems to believe that the core Marxist activity is persuading others of the truth of Marxism. This seems to me to reduce Marxism to a religion. Nothing particularly follows from becoming convinced of the truth of _Capital_ or _18th Brumaire_, etc. I do not even attach much importance to persuading people that "socialism is good" or "we need socialism." That recognition must occur in the process of struggle against one or more of the evils of capitalism, and when I have (1968-71) moved people to a recognition of the necessity of socialism, it has mostly been by listening, not preaching. Persuading people directly to Marxism tends to generate those who mostly wish to sit by the side of the road (as academics or journalists) and lecture those engaged in struggle. Marxist theory has to be held tacitly, for the most part, as the shape of revolutionary thought, not as its content.
^^^^^ CB: I'm thinking a contradiction between your practice and preaching here is that it would imply that you wouldn't write anything to the list except listening posts like " uhhhuh" ", I hear ya ". Can we expect you to go into lurking mode now ?
Also, some of the most famous practitioners of Marxism - Marx, Engels, Lenin - "preached" about 150 or more volumes. That doesn't cover all the speeches they made. That means they spent a lot of time in non-core Marxist activities. Fidel Castro doesn't exactly hold his Marxism tacitly either.
I agree that the core activity of Marxism is practical-critical activity, but on an email list it's got to be practical-verbal activity.
What is ? Struggle: Moral, physical, verbal, bodily.