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Our philosophies, the ones that we truly believe and not just what we superficially claim on the surface, are what dictate our actions, behaviors and decisions in life and relationships. I’ll admit, this month has been a bit more academic than most, and some of you might not be able to see how these different philosophies we’ve been addressing are impacting your relationships, but today it’s all coming together.
One of the most compelling root philosophies driving millions of people today is known as Marxism. Marxism is a philosophical structure which was developed by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in the 1840’s which believed that the division of labor, for example factory workers compared to factory owners, is inherently wrong and creates unequal and exploitative class systems known as the proletariat – the workers – and the bourgeoisie - the owners. This system, they believed, created class oppression in which the rich, bourgeoisie class could control the economy and politics of a nation and, therefore, create an institutional system by which to control the rest of society. The answer that Marx worked towards was, what he referred to as, the “awakening of the proletariat” when enough of the working-class people would become conscious of both their oppressed state and the fact that they held the far greater power of numbers, enabling them to rise up and overthrow the capitalist systems of the upper-class oppressors. It has now been almost 180 years since the birth of Marxism and, even though the larger revolution of Marxist socialism or communism haven’t occurred, the influence of Marx and Engels can still be seen from the workplace, to the universities and right into our own living rooms. So, if not the revolution of the proletariat, then what does Marxism look like today?
What we’ve described so far is what is known as classic Marxism. Of course, that was a one-paragraph, 30,000-foot overview and there is a lot more to it, but it was hopefully enough to give you the gist. In the 1960’s, a movement was birthed out of classical Marxism which, due to the economic and class predictions of Marx regarding capitalism and working-class conditions not coming to pass in the way that he had thought, a shift in focus from the working class and towards the intellectuals as the new group which could bring Marxism into the forefront. It was the young college students who took up the mantle of Marx and began working towards establishing themselves into positions of influence and power in order to bring about the socialist revolution from the inside. This group was called the New-Left. Now, I realize that all of that may sound highly inflammatory and like we are making baseless accusations. We don’t have time to draw every line and connect all of the dots in this video, so hopefully you will accept a letter written by C. Wright Mills in which he lays out this exact strategy as evidence that we aren’t just making this stuff up.
That’s right, we came with receipts! These adapted forms of Marxism came to be known as Neo-Marxism and have been refined, revised and adapted since this point. All of this brings us to today, where the current wave of Marxist philosophy comes in the form of Critical Theory. Critical theory recasts the roles of bourgeoisie and proletariat as oppressed and oppressor. It is no longer just political or economic institutions of oppression, but critical theory presents all systems in which some are able to advance while others are not as power structures which produce systemic injustice. It is believed that all forms of perceived inequality are evidences of institutional injustice. This is where the roots of Marxism have spread out to reach our friends, our families, our marriages and every relationship in our lives. Every relationship has an inherent power structure which disproportionately advantages and disadvantages one or the other. Every relationship is viewed through the lens of oppressor and oppressed and, in order to right this wrong, the oppressors must aknowledge and actively work against the structures which have given them favor while the oppressed should rise up, speak their truths and share their lived experiences in order to take back their power. One of the most prominent forms of critical theory over the past few years is known as Critical Race Theory, which positions white people as the oppressors, which in their view is a statement of fact, and people of color, especially black people in America, as the oppressed. This view has been proliferated subtly through movies, music, and news stories covering what were deemed “fiery mostly peaceful protests” with buildings burning in the background all the way to children’s cartoons like The Proud Family, where children are presenting an alternative view of U.S. history while chanting, “Slaves built this country!”
Critical theory has even made its way into the Church as many pastors have encouraged their white congregants to acknowledge and repent of their generational sins of internalized racism, misogyny and so on. This is why recognizing and understanding the underlying philosophies that we have come to accept without question is so important. I have personally known many bewildered Christians who have felt ostricized in their own churches for sins that they have never committed. I have known multiple interacial couples who had to wrestle through needless strife because their marriage union was now being divided by the roles of oppressor and oppressed. Of course, if there is true injustice, true racism, true bigotry, then those sinful issues need to be repented of and the relationships need to be mended, but using broadbrush philosophies in order to upend the perceived power dynamics of an otherwise healthy relationship is, in itself, sinful.
While Marxism and its offspring seek to dismantle relationships and continue to cause division, unity, peace and true reconciliation is promised to everyone who is a follower of Christ.
"Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. - Galatians 3:23-28
Like we said, this is a 30,000-foot view of a very deep conversation so if you want to hear more, make sure you join us for our Tuesday Talk. Every Tuesday, we have begun putting out a new series where Jerrod and I have a longer, unscripted conversation about our the big ideas we’ve started unpacking in the regular weekly video. We’ll also be responding to your questions or critiques that you leave in the comments sections of our videos in the Tuesday Talks or one of our many weekly shorts.
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