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Can somebody explain the stigma regarding Marx on HN? I mean, I get that this a forum for a VC firm but isn't it also a place for academic discussion? It's pret
by ezzzzz 7y ago
Can somebody explain the stigma regarding Marx on HN? I mean, I get that this a forum for a VC firm but isn't it also a place for academic discussion? It's pretty hard to discuss things like income disparity, automation, etc without a mention.
- TeMPOraL 7y agoIt's not HN-specific, it's the general culture stigma against Marx bleeding through. And it's not entirely unjustified, because you definitely want to filter out low-effort, thoughtless Marxism.
- pjc50 7y agoHN is okish at academic discussion, despite the constant risk of "middlebrow dismissal" (as the moderation guidelines call it). But people aren't widely read in certain areas outside STEM. The legitimate objections to Marx are that he's old - Marxist analysis is like Freudian analysis, there's a big risk of pretending that nothing has happened in the field for a century. And therefore he's not great on the influences of technology; he pre-dates the microchip and the internal combustion engine. Less seriously, Marxists have a tendency to be annoying jargon-spouters (see Orwell on the subject), and there's a big contingent of fanatical anti-communists who will kick of at the merest mention of his name. In my long list of round-tuit projects is "see what of Marx can be rescued from the Marxists".
- ezzzzz 7y agoThanks for a thoughtful answer.