Yeah, that critique really comes across as naive when people have said similar things to me. Maoists in particular seem to be convinced that if they just proselytized enough, everyone in a nation would become diehard Marxists, but they don’t seem to realise that the masses align with Marxism not out of some noble sense of honour or duty, but just because it aligns with their material interests. This isn’t to disparage people or to accuse them of being bad people or anything, just that most people would want to make sure their families and friends are safe and leading good lives, and won’t sacrifice everything for some ideological cause, no matter how much a Maoist group tries to convince them that they need to go and hide out in a compound in the woods to wage PPW.
Yeah, that critique really comes across as naive when people have said similar things to me. Maoists in particular seem to be convinced that if they just proselytized enough, everyone in a nation would become diehard Marxists, but they don’t seem to realise that the masses align with Marxism not out of some noble sense of honour or duty, but just because it aligns with their material interests. This isn’t to disparage people or to accuse them of being bad people or anything, just that most people would want to make sure their families and friends are safe and leading good lives, and won’t sacrifice everything for some ideological cause, no matter how much a Maoist group tries to convince them that they need to go and hide out in a compound in the woods to wage PPW.
Exactly, viewing it any other way feels like boutique ideology. We should be Marxist out of necessity not identity.