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Critical theory is actually what people mean when they say cultural Marxism. Critical theory itself came out of various Marxist and Marxist-influenced academic

Critical theory is actually what people mean when they say cultural Marxism. Critical theory itself came out of various Marxist and Marxist-influenced academics in the mid-20th century.

rocqua 5y ago
It seems that most people in this thread who use the term cultural marxism don't quite mean critical theory. Instead it seems to be about seeing (and advocating for) a dialectic between the oppressors and the oppressed. The idea is that this division maps somewhat to 'cultural' groups. The main 'cultural' division they mention is race. I would assume they also include LGBT+ and occasionally jews as part of the opressed group. A main part of the concept behind this is that this dialectic is wrong. And hence people supporting it are doing so for other goals. Apparently this goal is "communism". That is, the goal is overthrowing the oppressed. It seems like the idea is that some of the people supporting this dialectic do so without questioning whether it is true. Hence, the argument goes, the supporters of this idea are either maliciously pushing a false agenda, or they are convinced by the false agenda and are well-meaning fools. I also get the feeling there is an undertone of trying to understand why white / straight / gentile people are actually supporting the progressive side of identity politics. Personally, I think most of this is plainly wrong. Though it seems like an interesting lens through which to look at the most extreme people at the progressive spectrum of identity politics.
- blacktriangle 5y ago
  Marxism and critical theory are separate but related, and its no accident critical theory came out of a Marxist think tank. Marxism looks to exploit some perceived opressor/opresee relationship in a civilization. Critical theory is about examining a civilization to determine what the opressor/opresee relationships are within that culture.

Critical theory is actually what people mean when they say cultural Marxism. Critical theory itself came out of various Marxist and Marxist-influenced academics in the mid-20th century.

rocqua 5y ago

It seems that most people in this thread who use the term cultural marxism don't quite mean critical theory. Instead it seems to be about seeing (and advocating for) a dialectic between the oppressors and the oppressed. The idea is that this division maps somewhat to 'cultural' groups. The main 'cultural' division they mention is race. I would assume they also include LGBT+ and occasionally jews as part of the opressed group. A main part of the concept behind this is that this dialectic is wrong. And hence people supporting it are doing so for other goals. Apparently this goal is "communism". That is, the goal is overthrowing the oppressed. It seems like the idea is that some of the people supporting this dialectic do so without questioning whether it is true. Hence, the argument goes, the supporters of this idea are either maliciously pushing a false agenda, or they are convinced by the false agenda and are well-meaning fools. I also get the feeling there is an undertone of trying to understand why white / straight / gentile people are actually supporting the progressive side of identity politics. Personally, I think most of this is plainly wrong. Though it seems like an interesting lens through which to look at the most extreme people at the progressive spectrum of identity politics.

blacktriangle 5y ago
Marxism and critical theory are separate but related, and its no accident critical theory came out of a Marxist think tank. Marxism looks to exploit some perceived opressor/opresee relationship in a civilization. Critical theory is about examining a civilization to determine what the opressor/opresee relationships are within that culture.