The title of our blog today is consciously ambivalent. The second word in the title; viz, 'matters', is both a noun and a verb. As we go along, meanings may emerge, and, would hopefully be clearer. However, in the world today, when Marx is often used for that silly sick joke of the "you are an absolute marks-ist" variety, why, in the first place, insist on the relevance of Marx?
Well, on the occasion of his death anniversary ( March 14), I would first and foremost, and most forcefully, and sincerely, like to assert that Marx has nothing to do with either Marxism or Marxists. People, who have not even properly read his works, assert or accuse/attack his legacy, I must say, in an intellectually lazy way.
Let us look at a few typical examples before I come to Marx' relevance, et al. We have, I am sorry to say so, an intellectually quite vacuous socio-cultural climate where the sick followers define, and thus detract from, the relevance of a thinker. Let me give you a number of examples to prove my point.
Calling everyone else beyond one's own mafia Manuvadi or Sanatani is considered chic these days. Ninety-five per cent of the people, who thus get their high through this exciting abuse, would not have seen (the question of reading any such text hence does not even arise at all) either the 'Manusmriti' and/or the "Geeta", forget the entire "Prasthan-trayi". To begin with, they would not even understand Sanskrit. Their Marathi is non-descript, and as for their English, the less said, the better!
Anyways, these days, most are doctorate holders, Ph.D's, who 'pass out' daily from the great WhatsApp University. Podcasts (we know by who, the types are by now rather 'famous', right?) are the reference points! It is, however, so sexy, and it gives such a huge high to beat black and blue, metaphorically, of course, the Manuvadi's, and to talk of caste without knowing its colonial history or the notions of 'varna' or 'guna'. It is easier to rattle off Shahu-Phule-Ambedkar without having read any writings by/on either!
Those to whom Marxism is an anathema are no better either. Just because Stalin, Hitler, Mao, et al, misused his name and/or his theory (I am not sure these worthies either would have read poor Marx. Thank God, those days the near-the-college-gate 'intellectual' meetings did not exist either!) does not mean everything Marx wrote is a potent atom-bomb intellectually.
Well, actually, Marx never ever provides permanent solutions for or against any concept, including, oh, yes, religion. His methodology, a critique, always emerges out of self-critique-ing, out of questioning the givens. Okay, most want simplistic solutions, right? So let us not get in to theorising.
Let us instead briefly say that his doubts about the dehumanising after-effects of capitalism are worth a thought today. I would soon write a blog on the fears of a 1929 re-surfacing. In other words, globalisation and privatisation have created many bubbles which could burst any second. Marx' 'matter', that is, his ideas, his framework, shows us what brings us to such a pass.
Marx was never ever arguing that he had THE final solution. If you have read just the 'Manifesto', you would know that, in the final analysis, he even wanted the proles to outgrow empty meaningless mechanical work. A literature person himself, he would seek sensitive, not rigid, solutions. But who cares!
In brief, Marx matters, that is to say, is centrally relevant today. Look at the mad rush of the A.I. these days. Technology is speeding by such leaps and bounds that there is every possibility that robotics and the A.I. might outsmart the creator, the mankind. Many professions are literally dying. New ones may emerge.
Surely, however, the constant upskilling/reskilling involved would create multiple problems in its wake. In such fluid and complex times, Marx may provide a few solutions. Hence this tribute to him on his death anniversary.
Pratima@ Any thinker, rooted in and hence limited by his times, can never ever be used as a 'one solution fits all' placebo for later times. Sure, however, every intellectual lamppost makes the road ahead clearer, right?
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