Mahoney on Manifesto
Mahoney on Manifesto
Featured contributor Prof. Josef Mahoney at Southeast University (东南大学) #Nanjing, "Faith, Science and Practice: From the Communist Manifesto to the 两论. Why the Manifesto is still relevant today.
Why the Communist Manifesto (1848) is still relevant today
Featured contributor Prof. Josef Mahoney returned to Southeast University (东南大学) in #nanjing to give a guest lecture titled, "Faith, Science and Practice: From the Communist Manifesto to the 两论.
1) First major text for Communists drawing a direct line between theory andpractice. lt directly answers the call Marx makes in his "Theses on Feuerbach'1845) for a "practical-critical" understanding of the material world, one capableof effective revolutionary praxis.
2) With a people-centered perspective, it correctly understands the central problem is class struggle within the capitalist mode of production.3) Establishes a clear message of political principles and commitment, providing a touchstone we can return to whenever we want to remind ourselves what we care about.
4) Conveys a militant, spiritual quality, one that captured the spirit of revolutionwhich can reinvigorate us when we are tired or in doubt and need a renewal of“faith."
How should we compare the Manifesto with Mao's 两论(1937)?
1) Both written by teachers in the midst of revolutionary struggle, simple andaccessible
2)The Manifesto shows us the start of a new science and politics devoted tochanging the world. The 两论is a mature realization of such a science, drawinglessons from Marx and Lenin but also traditional Chinese wisdom and the CPC'sstruggles since 1921.
3) Study the 两论 if you want a succinct and unsurpassed introduction todialectical and historical materialism. Favor "On Practice" if you want tounderstand how #china has been changed by the #cpc. Favor "OnContradiction" if you want to understand the logic of that change.
4) The 两论 are two of the most important, foundational textsof #chinese #marxism. Careful study reveals the corrections Mao offers toLenin's understanding of dialectics (e.g., Lenin emphasises "or" in his depiction of a unity of "'mutually exclusive opposites," whereas Mao is rationalising theSecond United Front after the Xian Incident, and therefore emphasizing "and和"), the significance of which may explain in part why the #ussr failed and the #prc did not.
Emphasis on a more inclusive unity was already present in Li Dazhao's thinkingwhen Mao worked under him at Peking University, and it was instrumental inanother key development in Chinese Marxism--the Peasant-Worker Alliance-which ran contrary to Marx and Lenin's understanding of peasants' progressiverevolutionary potential. Or perhaps, as Li and Mao understood as peasantsthemselves,Chinese peasants were different..
These ways of thinking drew Moscow's ire after Mao published the两论provoking Stalin's Dialectical and Historical Materialism (1938), whichsummarized Engels and Lenin on dialectics, while Soviet scholars derided Macfor "Daoist idealism." Stalin also knew Mao was consolidating his own line.having supplanted the Soviet-trained Chinese Marxists and Moscow-directedComintern agents who'd misled the Party and brought it to the brink of ruin.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/josef-gregory-mahoney-95481615/
Mahoney on US presidential election
Featured contributor, Prof. Josef Mahoney discusses #chinese perspectives concerning the US presidential election, with a review of strategic implications.
A few quotes:
"Some people are simply entertained: the political drama associated with the Uselection amuses many around the world, including a large number of Chinese, averitable soap opera that also excites those who liken their pick to playing agame of chance."
"Chinese are thinking about #trump and Harris in much the same wayAmericans are: with an emphasis on style and personality but without much attention to their policy differences."
"Some believe that Trump is a disruptor by nature and unpredictable, where as the Chinese system values stability above all."
"A large number of Chinese social conservatives favour Trump because theyoppose identity politics and "woke" culture, fearful of the same infectingChinese youth and society. This includes criticism from old and young alike,keeping in mind that China's younger generations today include some of its mostconservative citizens."
"In Chinese social media, one can find a smattering of fascination with Kamala ethnicity and even dating history, with those holding disparaging positions often expressing themselves in the most vulgar terms.
"While a significant number of Chinese people welcome the idea of a career-minded climber who's nearly topped a patriarchal system and believe some ofAmerica's ills and those of the world might be corrected with a madam president, others stick with pure misogyny or the complicated argument that a'good woman" would not taint herself with the dark compromises necessary to rule such a dangerous, misguided and corrupt country."
"That said, even Chinese progressives, among them women, view Harris as emblematic of "white feminism," despite her mixed race, as advancing a universalist vision of women's liberation that has always been out of step with working class women and women in the developing world."
While officials remain neutral, Chinese scholars and netizens have mixed views, though ultimately don't see either candidate as offering a clear strategic advantage.
