On Sat, Mar 1, 2025 at 12:44 PM, hari kumar wrote: > > Probably, unlike many here, I do believe in the general pathways as > described by the rubric of historical materialism. For me, that does not > mean an exact prescription of events. Nor anything that denies human > agency.
Thanks, Hari. Much appreciate the clarification and am not surprised by it. I was and remain attracted to Marxism because of a) its implacable hostility to capitalism which informed and inspired the class and anti-imperialist struggles of my youth and b) its historical materialist method of analysis, which provided a powerful refutation of the prevailing social democratic thesis that systemic change is a gradual and peaceful process. I've since come to reject c) its prophetic dimension which - Engels’ later qualifications notwithstanding - has since 1848 regularly proclaimed and then postponed the arrival of the world socialist revolution much as evangelical millenarians have regularly had to shelve their forecasts of the second coming of Christ. No matter. Neither of us is claiming certainty. PS. The comment belonged to Yogi Berra, not Marx. Berra also said “it ain’t over ‘till it’s over” and “the future ain’t what it used to be” which we can also agree with. :) -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#35590): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/35590 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/111412499/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/13617172/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
