<p>"I am not even kind of a communist and I think marxist studies classes would be really interesting. But then, I am a poli sci major. "</p>
<p>Well like I said on the other page, we learned a bit of Marx in World Philosopher’s on Death, it was the entire second unit. He made a very nice case for saying how capitalism steals our individual identity. It’s been a year so I don’t remember the ENTIRE argument but it was essentially saying something like this: John is a Pencilmaker, he makes Pencils, that’s his identity. At the end of the day he is paid in x amount of pencils which he can then trade to others for equivilant goods and services. If money is put into the equation, then the identity is shifted away from the “pencilmaker” and to how much money he made each day, which is then used as a universal currency for everything. Then it becomes less about “John the Pencilmaker” and becomes “John the guy who just bought the $1500 plasma screen for the back of his $10,000 monster truck w/ trucknut attachment” </p>
<p>I’m not really… putting it as eloquently as it was explained in class but that’s the general idea. I really don’t get these people who immediately vomit vitirol whenever -gasp- Marxism is mentioned. What, you’re SO afraid of an opposing viewpoint that you feel the need to stamp out Marxist, Communist, Socialist, non-Capitalist viewpoints entirely? They’re SO subversive to you they shouldn’t be allowed to be taught? That’s not how college works, sorry. The only place that flies is in Reparative Therapy because that ****'s not an opposing viewpoint as much as it is abuse. </p>
<p>Seriously, the works aren’t that bad, you can’t understand the classics if you don’t understand the mindset along with it. You can’t understand The Stranger unless you’ve at least been INTRODUCED to Existentialism, not at the deepest level anyway. How can you read The Ramayana, Mahabharata, or the Bhagivhad Gita if you don’t know the Indian caste system? For that matter, Dante’s Inferno/Divine Comedy if you don’t know medieval Europe’s OWN caste system? Really… you can’t.</p>