When did comradely come to mean collegial? Part of the academicization of Marxism, Id contend, has involved the gradual replacement of frank, unsparing polemic with chummy, backscratching collegiality. This can be seen in all the gentle critiques and polite asides, as authors practically trip over themselves in order to point out how thought-provoking and insightful their critics are. Academics egos bruise easily, you see, and theyre all chasing tenure and book deals in an increasingly dried-up market. So they need to be mollified from time to time, reassured of how much theyre contributing to the discourse, lest they become demoralized and drop out. I miss the days when Marx would inveigh against the Young Hegelians (Saint Max, Saint Bruno, the Rabbi Moses Hess) for their theoretical bubble-blowing, accusing Malthus of plagiarizing James Steuart and calling Herr Vogt a fat bastard. Or Engels declaring that Dührings contributions to theory havent even the weight of a fart. Luxemburg wasnt mollycoddled at all in the Second International; she was simply more bloodthirsty than the boys, calling for Bernsteins head and ruling the Polish section with an iron fist. Even Dzherzhinskii, who worshipped her, was terrified by her. Wouldnt it be great to go to an academic conference and hear a panelist say that they want to support their critics in the same way a rope supports a hanged man, as Lenin did?
Posted on: Sat, 08 Nov 2014 17:26:31 +0000
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