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by vkou
3564 days ago
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What are the politics of Karl Marx? Plato's views on government, and condemnation of democracy are quite clearly laid out in the Republic. Kant writings have plenty to say about freedom vis-a-vis government, state power, rights of property, revolutions, warfare. None of these great minds existed in an apolitical, unbiased vacuum, where they could devote themselves to nothing but free thought. When it comes to education, my impression is that people use the term 'apolitical' to describe political opinions that happen to align with their own. Hence, Hobbes and Locke are apolitical - whereas feminist philosophy so frequently is. Adam Smith? Apolitical. Karl Marx? Political. |
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If that is the claim, then I agree that it is wrong. The most common criticism of Marx that I have heard is not that he is political, but that he is wrong (and perhaps incoherent). Similarly, I think that any curriculum that wants to replace the highly influential writings of Plato with another philosopher should make a case for why we should do this... an argument beyond the "inclusion" of additional points of view. I can sit at my desk and come up with a dozen different points of view. I don't think that each of those should be included in a philosophy class, in place of Plato.