ACP THEORY: Standard Marxism isn’t enough

Main Ideas

Marxism Beyond Quoting the Classics

The speakers begin with a joke about one of them claiming to have levitated as a child, then turn to a broader question: Is inherited Marxist-Leninist theory sufficient for communist work in the contemporary West?

One speaker’s reading of old Communist Party USA journals suggests that some Marxist writing treats theory as a catalogue of quotations from Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin, and Mao. The speakers argue that knowing the canon matters, but quoting it is not the same as understanding its ideas or applying them to present conditions.

Examining the Western Context

The discussion contrasts societies where socialist theory was embedded in concrete revolutionary and state-building practices with Western settings where Marxists often debate the essence of Marxism at a theoretical distance. The speakers suggest that Western assumptions—such as starting from an abstract “blank slate,” seeking certainty, and separating things from their contexts—shape how Western thinkers approach philosophy and politics.

They also question accounts that treat modernity and modern science as purely Western achievements. The speakers discuss Chinese ideas of harmony and wholeness, Islamic and Sufi traditions, Mongol connections, and Indigenous critiques of European power. They refer as well to cultural exchanges between Indigenous communities and European settlers as one influence on Enlightenment political thought. These examples, they argue, point to the importance of studying the historical conditions behind modernity rather than treating it as an isolated European development.

Resonance as a Way to Connect Marxism with Other Traditions

Rather than defining Marxism as a fixed essence, the speakers propose understanding it through resonance: a living relationship between ideas, practices, historical experiences, and present conditions.

A genuine resonance involves both continuity and difference. Simply repeating the same formulas does not renew or develop a tradition. Marxism-Leninism’s classical works can provide a baseline or guide, but they should not prevent engagement with thinkers outside the tradition.

The speakers argue that non-Marxist ideas can offer useful tools even when their authors’ politics are objectionable. For example, they discuss Foucault’s analysis of discourse and power as relevant to how social media shapes people’s thinking and self-understanding. They caution against rejecting an idea solely because it comes from a different or politically problematic tradition. The key question is whether it helps illuminate reality and revolutionary practice.

Political Work, Subjectivity, and Personal Motives

The speakers argue that communist organizations must understand the people they work with, including the habits and personal difficulties shaped by their society. Psychoanalysis and other approaches to subjectivity may therefore be useful to Marxist leaders, even if such topics are sometimes treated as outside acceptable Marxist discussion.

People may first be drawn to Marxism for personal or even confused reasons. The speakers argue that this does not automatically invalidate the theory or reduce political commitment to individual psychology. Cultivating a resonance can lead someone beyond an initial attraction and toward a deeper understanding of an idea’s historical and social significance.

Conversely, a rigid attachment to a personal fixation or an apparent source of certainty can become limiting. The speakers suggest that fear of losing one’s sense of connection may encourage dogmatism. They distinguish between investigating why people are drawn to Marxism and explaining Marxism away as merely a symptom of individual pathology.

Communism as Social Reciprocity

The discussion presents “from each according to their ability, to each according to their needs” as more than a distant ideal: some form of this principle is already necessary for human society to function. Examples include helping a child in danger and cooperating through sports.

The speakers argue that class society and private property obstruct or distort the alignment between people’s abilities and needs. They connect this separation to alienation and to capitalism’s coexistence of great social wealth with poverty.

Critiques of Western Marxist Practice

The speakers argue that some Western groups rely on inherited formulas—such as repeating familiar organizing tactics—instead of asking what current conditions require. In their view, this reflects a fear of testing new approaches or deepening the movement’s understanding of society.

They characterize the ACP as more open to exploring new intellectual tools and forms of political practice. They emphasize a modest, investigative attitude: important answers are not simply waiting in the classics; they must be discovered through theory and practice. The goal is not to abandon the revolutionary tradition, but to understand and develop it in ways that resonate with present circumstances.

Speakers and Sources Mentioned

Speakers

• Haz Al-Din
• Dr. Carlos L. Garrido

Books, Publications, Thinkers, and Traditions

• Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin, and Mao
• The Communist, Political Affairs, World Marxist Review, and Mass and Mainstream—publications discussed in relation to Communist Party USA archives
• Yuk Hui, On the Question of Technology in China
• David Graeber and David Wengrow, The Dawn of Everything; Graeber’s idea of “basic communism”
• Cornel West and his book identified in the subtitles as The American Invasion of Philosophy (likely referring to The American Evasion of Philosophy)
• John Dewey and Martin Heidegger
• Michel Foucault, Jacques Lacan, Edmund Husserl, Slavoj Žižek, Louis Althusser, and Evald Ilyenkov
• Chinese ideas of harmony and “resonance of heaven and humanity”; Islamic and Sufi thought; Indigenous critiques of European political power
• Oscar Rojas, mentioned in an anecdote about an earlier conversation