reflections on communism

[frandroid]

If the Church worked so well as a system to ensure obedience and the good functioning of the economic system, why did Marx reject it? Think of the awesome power of Catholicism and Communism banding together instead of opposing each other. The social gospel would have achieved total world domination, creating a new Eden on Earth.

Ahem. Still...?

Comments

[theoria.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure I understand the question. I'm not familiar of any argument of Marx's that claims that the Church ensured "the good functioning of the economic system". Do recall, that as a mode of legitimation, the Church operated in the feudal mode of production. Marx has no love for feudalism, and you shouldn't either. See his "Contribution to a Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right" (1843) and the first manuscript in the Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts (1844).

[frandroid.livejournal.com]

It was a poorly worded question... I mean it's pretty tongue in cheek to start with, and as brownfist mentioned, Marx had a genuine desire for human liberation, so from that perspective, the Church is out. Thinking a bit more about it, I have more in mind actual communist regimes, say, Stalin's for example.

But I should have specified that I'm just fucking the proverbial dog... I was thinking about why authoritarian regimes would not use existing oppressive structures rather than combat them. In the end, I'm down with the opium analysis.

poetofthefuture did bring up liberation theology, and along that line, I was also thinking a bit about the United Church's social gospel that led to the creation of the CCF and the NDP as progressive examples, but that is kind of besides the point.

[theoria.livejournal.com]

Existing structures are the old elite. Where did the ranking clergy come from in the Catholic Church? The nobility. Who is the enemy of the people? The nobility. &c.

[theoria.livejournal.com]

Oh, and "On the Jewish Question," of course.