[lbo-talk] The Ideology Problem

[James Heartfield]

SA writes, as if this view was absurd: '"Marxism"  was essentially seen as a philosophy about how forces and relations of  production are in conflict; how capitalism is concentrating production, immiserating the proletariat, driving down the rate of profit, and preparing the path for socialism.'

Which to me sounds like a reasonable shorthand for what Marx spent most of his time writing about (apart from the word 'philosophy', which study, he compared to wanking).

But apparently, no, Marx was not really writing about relations of production or the rate of profit, or immiseration, but really just preparing the ground for the fascinating study of .... epistemology and the nature of man!