Thursday, September 17, 2020

Criticism of Marxist literary criticism

 Marxist literary criticism is a way of reading a text in which the reader is to identify the power structures, the oppressed, and the symbols of oppression.  In other words, what is the class struggle occurring in the text.  It is intended to show how capitalism is a social structure that oppresses people.  Through Marxist literary criticism the reader should identify that it is the ruling class that has caused the conflict in which the working class protagonist must struggle.  But what is the end result, logical conclusion, the reader is to arrive at when following Marxist literary criticisms?  

  Marx's answer: You are oppressed and it is someone else's fault.  "They" programmed your brain to oppress you.    

  Marx’s Capital states that "the mode of production of material life determines altogether the social, political, and intellectual life process. It is not the consciousness of men that determines their being, but on the contrary their social being, that determines their consciousness." Put simply, the social situation of the author determines the types of characters that will develop, the political ideas displayed and the economical statements developed in the text. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marxist_literary_criticism

  And if only you had 'x' your oppression would end.  [Fill in the variable 'x' with stuff i.e. 'the means of production', 'iPhones, 'Nikes', 'Lancome Mascara'... ]  

There is no self improvement in Marxist literary criticism.  Problems would be solved by just taking the thing you are missing and/or disrupting the social/economic system.  

In short, Marxist criticism is a justification of theft.  

Sometimes we are OK with that justification, like increasing the taxes on Jeff Bezos.  But eventually everyone is in front of the barrel of Marx's critical canon.

Firefighter's Dream sports bar destroyed 

Chicago looting

The consequence, improving yourself makes you a target for someone else to blame.

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