What are your thoughts re Hegelian Dialectic & CRT

[Falco Knotwise]

I’d like to know whether teaching students about “white privilege” in universities is still considered just a harmless “lens” through which to examine social injustices?

Also, is on-campus antisemitic rhetoric in the name of “resisting colonialism” (by the left) really that different than Germany’s antisemitic rhetoric in the name of resisting communism?

Addendum: note they were both couched in terms of class warfare/revolutions. I tend to see communism and national socialism as the far left and far right of the Marxist (or perhaps the socialist) spectrum.

The association of that Marxist “right” with the “right” of American conservatism is an artificial construction created by early neomarxists, perhaps (unfortunately) aided by Hannah Arendt.

Class warfare has precious little to do with conservative ideology, and no necessary connection to an authoritarian personality or religious conservatism. Those have been found throughout history in many other forms of government. Such supposed emotional threads linking the two is mere guilt by association, imo. A VERY inaccurate analysis, imo, and closely connected to the sexual revolutions which have so far failed to lead to any utopias.

I don't think it's correct to say that Nazism was the "right" edge of Marxism. The Nazis rejected the Marxist concept of class warfare and argued for social harmony based on a shared identity of racial purity. One of the most dominant aspects of Nazism is its emphasis on "blood and soil," which I think is a conservative stream of thought.

I feel 100 percent sure this is mistaken. The racial component was added to Hitler’s version of Marxism thus making it “national socialism.”

Hitler believed the Jews own the largest businesses AND that they were in control of the communist movement. He believed it was necessary therefore to get rid of the Jews to destroy both. He believed the communists perverted Marxism and that his version was in accordance with Marxism’s original intent.

He says exactly that somewhere. If I find quotes, I’ll provide them.

[Falco Knotwise]

I’d like to know whether teaching students about “white privilege” in universities is still considered just a harmless “lens” through which to examine social injustices?

Also, is on-campus antisemitic rhetoric in the name of “resisting colonialism” (by the left) really that different than Germany’s antisemitic rhetoric in the name of resisting communism?

Addendum: note they were both couched in terms of class warfare/revolutions. I tend to see communism and national socialism as the far left and far right of the Marxist (or perhaps the socialist) spectrum.

The association of that Marxist “right” with the “right” of American conservatism is an artificial construction created by early neomarxists, perhaps (unfortunately) aided by Hannah Arendt.

Class warfare has precious little to do with conservative ideology, and no necessary connection to an authoritarian personality or religious conservatism. Those have been found throughout history in many other forms of government. Such supposed emotional threads linking the two is mere guilt by association, imo. A VERY inaccurate analysis, imo, and closely connected to the sexual revolutions which have so far failed to lead to any utopias.

I don't think it's correct to say that Nazism was the "right" edge of Marxism. The Nazis rejected the Marxist concept of class warfare and argued for social harmony based on a shared identity of racial purity. One of the most dominant aspects of Nazism is its emphasis on "blood and soil," which I think is a conservative stream of thought.

This is mistaken. The racial component was added to Hitler’s version of Marxism thus making it “national socialism.”

Hitler believed the Jews owned the largest businesses AND that they were in control of the communist movement. He believed it was necessary therefore to get rid of the Jews to destroy both. (By getting rid of the Jews, he felt he was getting rid of the most dangerous element of the capitalist class.) He believed the communists perverted Marxism and that his version was in accordance with Marxism’s original intent.

He says exactly that somewhere. If I find the quotes, I’ll provide them.

[Josh]

In particular, Naziism was very socialist with the central government ultimately in control of industry, although it allowed some capitalists to maintain nominal ownership of industry.

[Falco Knotwise]

Class consciousness can give one a sense of belonging and of entitlement to collective rights, a feeling of empowerment. On the other hand, the idea of class conflict can make class warfare (whole class warfare, mass murder) look like the perfectly logical thing to do.

Hitler saw the Jews as an enemy class.

Stalin saw the kulaks his enemy class.

Notice a pattern?

[Ken]

Sheesh...

The Nazis were as socialist as the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) was "democratic"

as in not at all: https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/ ... ocialists/

[Josh]

Sheesh...

The Nazis were as socialist as the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) was "democratic"

as in not at all: https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/ ... ocialists/

Yes, I’m aware socialists are embarrassed by this. It doesn’t change the fact that’s how wartime Germany was organised.

[Ken]

Sheesh...

The Nazis were as socialist as the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) was "democratic"

as in not at all: https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/ ... ocialists/

Yes, I’m aware socialists are embarrassed by this. It doesn’t change the fact that’s how wartime Germany was organised.

Nazis viewed socialists and socialism as their mortal enemy. And vice versa. Correctly so in both cases.

The fact that the German state mobilized German industry later in the war out of wartime desperation does not change that fact. Any more than the fact that Trump mobilized the pharma industry to produce a vaccine and took over the distribution of PPE during the COVID emergency through "Operation Warp Speed" made Trump a socialist.

[Falco Knotwise]

Sheesh...

The Nazis were as socialist as the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) was "democratic"

as in not at all: https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/ ... ocialists/

Not at all is only how the communists and left chooses to see it. His class consciousness came straight from Marx.

Fascists believed the way to get rid of inequalities was to make the classes work together all for the state. This was their version of a classless society.

They believed this fulfilled the real intent of Marx. Communists disagreed and denied Fascism had anything to do with Marxism.

(They believed class conflict, not class cooperation, was central. This is where communists and fascists separate.)

The impulse of a centrally controlled society, to work for a classless society, to fight a class that (appears to you) opposed to your own version of classless society — all Marxist in inspiration.

I don’t agree with WaPo or Theodore Adorno.

(I see communism and national socialism as fraternal twins, separated at birth.)

[Ken]

Sheesh...

The Nazis were as socialist as the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) was "democratic"

as in not at all: https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/ ... ocialists/

Not at all is only how the communists and left chooses to see it. His class consciousness came straight from Marx.

Words have meanings.

In the 1920s, the actual socialist party in Germany was the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and not the Nazis.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_De ... of_Germany and they were the primary opposition to Hitler and the Nazis in the 1932 elections that brought Hitler to power: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_1932 ... l_election

Once the Nazis had consolidated power with the enabling acts of 1933 (which the Socialists were the only party to oppose) they set about repressing any hint of socialism. They first banned the SDP and then went about arresting socialist leaders and other prominent socialists and either throwing them into concentration camps or executing them. Those few who managed to escape Germany formed the SDP party in exile to oppose Nazism, first in Paris and later in London.

[Josh]

Nazis viewed socialists and socialism as their mortal enemy. And vice versa. Correctly so in both cases.

No, they viewed Communists as rivals. Mostly because they were fighting for absolute state authoritarian control of the same turf.

The fact that the German state mobilized German industry later in the war out of wartime desperation does not change that fact. Any more than the fact that Trump mobilized the pharma industry to produce a vaccine and took over the distribution of PPE during the COVID emergency through "Operation Warp Speed" made Trump a socialist.

What Trump did was wrong and a good example of government overreach. It was quite socialist when vaccines were distributed for “free”.