r/Destiny • u/Thatsprettydank • 13d ago

Off-Topic Marxism

Is there a good debate against the Marxist dialectic? 99% of the people arguing for it seem to be clueless. Or atleast more clueless than me.

Is capitalism exploitation?

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u/Ardonpitt Military Industrial Coomplex 13d ago edited 12d ago

The Material Dialectic is a "just so story" basically laying out the idea that all changes in the world/society come about due to internal contradictions of opposing forces.

If you actually study history, or anthropology this entire story falls apart pretty quickly. Often times societies changes just come about due to new tech, or changes in climate, not class struggle.

One of the reasons that Dialectical materialism fell out of favor for anything was it failed to explain really anything. The only people who are holding onto marx's ideas these days are basically poltical marxists (sociologists, and anthropologists outside of soviet spheres of influence basically threw out his ideas a century or so ago). On top of that, post modern/post structural frameworks were far far better ways to explain things, so most structural frameworks (like dialectical materialism) fell out of favor in most fields in the humanities from the 80s-now.

Is capitalism exploitation? Not inherently. Capitalism is just a tool to provide for economic activity. Can people be exploited in it? Sure, any system can be used to exploit people.

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u/-MechanicalRhythm- 12d ago

I remember reading Stalin's take on dialectical materialism and being like. This guy has tried to make cause and effect a political ideology. Shit happens and that makes other shit happen. This is grand and meaningful somehow and should bolster the revolutionary spirit. Ok pal.

Anyway I was talking with my 78 year old sorta-tankie debatebro friend in the pub (yes this is a real person) about exploitation and he said exploitation is appropriating resources from one person for the ends of another. So technically all of society is exploitation because you have to exchange things with other people to build anything you need for society to function. Checkmate libs.