- 20 Nov 2016 13:42
#14740067
(Note: deleted early this morning in a database restoration, then reposted.)
DISCLAIMER: My ideas, though well-formed, may be far from well-informed. I'm just now researching Marxism, my knowledge of which stems mostly from a handful of cursory sources. Do feel free, if I've made a basic factual mistake, to correct me. I am getting started on a number of introductory texts; feel free, also, to provide recommendations.
Having said that, I'm curious how Marxists here view the explanatory scope of historical materialism. Is it a comprehensive account, or is it a general guideline? Marx himself believed the latter, if I'm not mistaken—after all, should such a doctrine, which deflates "eternal truths" on the basis of material context, really become an eternal truth itself?
(I'm not feeling too articulate tonight. I was going to try to explain a possible difference between Marxism in theory, which seems to avoid unfalsifiability, and Marxism in practice, which will claim as much philosophical ground as it can to appeal to the masses. Could I be right in that regard, too?)
DISCLAIMER: My ideas, though well-formed, may be far from well-informed. I'm just now researching Marxism, my knowledge of which stems mostly from a handful of cursory sources. Do feel free, if I've made a basic factual mistake, to correct me. I am getting started on a number of introductory texts; feel free, also, to provide recommendations.
Having said that, I'm curious how Marxists here view the explanatory scope of historical materialism. Is it a comprehensive account, or is it a general guideline? Marx himself believed the latter, if I'm not mistaken—after all, should such a doctrine, which deflates "eternal truths" on the basis of material context, really become an eternal truth itself?
(I'm not feeling too articulate tonight. I was going to try to explain a possible difference between Marxism in theory, which seems to avoid unfalsifiability, and Marxism in practice, which will claim as much philosophical ground as it can to appeal to the masses. Could I be right in that regard, too?)
"Do not wait for the Last Judgment. It takes place every day."
Albert Camus, The Fall
Albert Camus, The Fall