Subtle Marxism is my phrase for the proliferation of Marxist ideas without using “Communist Buzzwords” associated with socialism and communism.
Recognizing that Americans have been brainwashed to hate “Communist Buzzwords”, we acknowledge that they must be deprogrammed with subtle means using “indirect education”.
Communist Buzzwords
- Communism
- Socialism
- Marxism
- Stalin, Mao
- China
- Bourgeoise
- Proletariat
Deprogramming
Deprogramming is the term for helping people see beyond the propaganda and censorship in their lives. Deprogramming can be a volatile and potentially dangerous act depending on your interlocutor (person you are discussing with). Use common sense and standard safety practices when deprogramming a person - the practice works best with people that already trust you.
Avoid direct confrontation, and instead present yourself as an ally - because ultimately, you are - you are trying to bring a new comrade to the revolution.
Direct Confrontation
Direct Confrontation - announcing that you are a Marxist and that you aim to convince them is not a recommended approach. Direct confrontation will lead to your interlocutor completely shutting down and digging into their position. making them immobile and unwilling to learn from you.
Deprogramming should use subtle tactics such as Indirect Education to explain socialist topics without identifying yourself as a communist.
Indirect Education
Indirect education is our term for addressing the contradictions of capitalism while avoiding “Communist Buzzwords”. If your interlocutor sees you as a potential ally, they will be more open to hearing and understanding your point of view.
By using indirect education, you can open the discussion and help them to understand the issues from a different perspective. You can explain the power of unions in helping workers gain better wages, benefits and working conditions. You can also explain the importance of investing in public programs such as healthcare, education, infrastructure, and housing that can help to lift people out of poverty. Finally, you can explain the importance of redistributing wealth to help create a more equitable society.
As communists, we must always focus our conversations upon class warfare: the rich bourgeoise class vs us the working proletariat.
Examples:
An example of indirect education is to explain the problems with capitalism by referring to historical events such as the 2008 housing crisis. You can point out how the crisis was caused by a lack of regulation in the banking industry. This will help them to understand the consequences of an unregulated market and how it can lead to systemic inequality.
Another example of indirect education is to explain the increasing wealth gap in the United States. You can point out that the top 1% of Americans own 40% of the wealth and the bottom 50% only own 1%. This disparity in wealth can be attributed to the lack of progressive taxation and the prevalence of tax avoidance by the wealthy.