April Book Club Recap: What is Marxism?

In April, the MFOLVA book club discussed What is Marxism? By Alan Woods and Rob Sewell in addition to a What is Marxism all about?, a PDF that was provided that breaks down the ideology in a much shorter format. This book essentially breaks down the fundamentals of Marxism including excerpts from the cornerstone works of this ideology. With the growing class divides and popularity of Marxism and the economic systems it produces, it felt necessary to discuss it within the book club. 

One thing that was discussed extensively in the hour was the power of the ruling class over the people, especially in terms of information presented. The narratives conveyed to us are told by whoever is “in charge,” which varies depending on the medium. However, the common thread is always power which goes hand in hand with money. When most of the mainstream media is run by those with money and therefore power, they can control the narratives presented to the people, with the same thing going for schools and their curriculums. This results in a working class whose thoughts and beliefs have been molded in large part by the ruling class, whose main objective is to preserve their spot within the hierarchy. 

This hierarchy is the basis of the class society; the more money one has, the higher on the food chain they are. The book club discussed the existence of this hierarchy and its necessity or lack thereof. The consensus was that under a capitalistic society, class will always exist because that is how the system is made to work; those at the bottom are exploited for the benefit of those at the top in exchange for their scraps. One member noted that this exploitation is not just domestic but is even more evident in the United State’s exploitation of those from developing nations. As the book itself states, “Imperialism is the final stage of capitalism that is reached when the capitalists of a particular country are compelled to economically expand beyond their borders.” This is the cornerstone of any class society: the exploitation of one for the benefit of another. The group also generally believed that class is not necessary to have a functioning society, that a bustling world can exist without this. 

Class and capitalism, like all issues, intersect heavily with race and gender, so the book club spent a considerable amount of time talking about this. One thing that was touched on was the feminization of poverty, how women make up the bulk of the poor and are therefore most affected by economic crises. It was discussed how the liberation of women cannot happen under capitalism due to this fact. When looking at this issue from a racial angle, a very similar pattern is revealed. People of color are exploited to a greater degree than white people under capitalism, due to things like the cycle of poverty and the blockage of opportunity. Due to this, they are more affected by economic crises than their white counterparts. Something else that was important to note was how race creates a separate hierarchy and while there is a relationship between this and the class system, it is one of correlation and not causation. Without class these racial lines will still exist; elimination of class will not eliminate white supremacy.      

This issue of racial capitalism is weaponized by the ruling class in order to preserve their place at the top. They use their power over information to pit the lower classes against each other by making the white working classes feel more superior than the minority working class. The white working class is taught that they are better off than the minority group, that the terrible conditions they are forced into are actually for their own self interest. As a whole, they become resistant to fighting for workers’ liberation because the shield of white supremacy protects them from becoming like the non-white worker. They will never give this shield up, and will do anything to preserve it. This results in, as the PDF states, “all workers suffer[ing], but the oppressed groups suffer[ing] the most.” Liberation of any group cannot happen under capitalism, these two ideas are mutually exclusive. 

Want to participate in the next book club conversation rather than just read about it? Join us on June 27, 2021 to discuss our May-June Title The End of Policing by Alex S. Vitale. Reading the book is not required but is always encouraged! Click here to sign up and get more information.