Economic vs. Cultural Marxism: The Most Important Distinction

From American Thinker.com (Jan 1):

Many on both ends of the political spectrum are aware of the fact that social justice is simply Marxism, masquerading as a new ideological movement.  Like Marxism, social justice's goal is to make the world a more balanced and equitable place.

As Marx phrased it in Das Kapital, "[i]n order to establish equality, we must first establish inequality" (1).  By finding the inequalities of the world, the Marxist can then begin eliminating the obstacles that impede equality.  The more of these sources of inequality the Marxist eliminates, the closer we move to an equitable socialist utopia.  This is why Marx was so adamant about abolishing certain fixtures of society.

Among the ills of society perpetuating inequality that need abolition, according to Marx, were history, private property, the family, eternal truths, nations and borders, and religion (2).  By destroying these sources of inequality, the Marxist is one step closer to the equitable world the Marxist knows is possible.  Marx believed that economic issues are the driving force of conflict in the world (3).  Eliminating class structure was the central goal of Marx's Communist Manifesto.

Marx's Manifesto influenced a group of intellectuals known as "The Frankfurt School" (4), who expanded on Marx's foundational premises.  They shifted the front from class to cultural struggle.  One of these intellectuals, György Lukács, is credited as the first person to advocate for the application of Marx's economic principles to cultural struggles: "he justified culture to the Marxists by showing how to condemn it in Marxist terms. And in doing so ... he provided crucial concepts to ... the thinkers of the Frankfurt School" (5).

The Frankfurt Schoolers elaborated on and furthered Lukács's cultural Marxism.  While the foundational tenets of economic Marxism are still present in their cultural Marxist works, there is a tenet that militates more with cultural than economic Marxism.  In shifting fronts from class to culture, a different aspect of Marxism mandates emphasis.

That aspect is Marx's desire to abolish individuality.  As Marx himself wrote: "And the abolition of this state of things is called by the bourgeois, abolition of individuality and freedom!" (6).  The social justice warriors of today are using this tenet of Marxism most frequently and strongly in their quest to create an equitable society. [read more]