> Small wonder that Marx stated repeatedly that he wasn't a Marxist. this is one of those "juicy morsels" that has taken on a life of its own...although I'm not sure that I've ever seen it attributed as something M "stated repeatedly"...and let me be clear in saying that I agree with the notion that Marxism should be subjected to "ruthless criticism" and with the sentiment expressed above... however, Marx's statement that "I am no Marxist" (or some such variant) appears 4 times in writings by Engels: 1) letter to Bernstein/1882: "...so-called 'Marxism' in France is an altogether peculiar product, so much so that Marx said to Lafargue: what is certain is that, as for me, I am no Marxist." 2) letter to Schmidt/1890: "...just as Marx said about the French 'Marxists' of the late seventies: All I know is that I am no Marxist." 3) letter to Lafargue/1890: "These gentlemen all go in for Marxism, but of the kind that you were familiar with ten years ago and of which Marx used to say: All I know is that I am no Marxist." 4) piece in SPD newspaper/1890: "Marx foresaw also these disciples when, toward the end of the 70s, he said of the then prevailing 'Marxism' of certain Frenchmen: all I know is that I am no Marxist." check the forward to Hal Draper's "Karl Marx's Theory of Revolution" Vol 2...forward is entitled "How Not to Quote Marx"...Michael
