Russian security forces have raided gay clubs and bars across Moscow less than 48 hours after the country’s top court banned what it called the “global LGBTQ+ movement” as an extremist organization.
It’s here, just the first few paragraphs (ending with “the criticism of Heaven turns into the criticism of Earth, the criticism of religion into the criticism of law, and the criticism of theology into the criticism of politics.”), not the whole thing. It’s so interesting and many non-Marxists dont know about his non-economic writing. This was written when he was around 25 years old, before the Communist Manifesto, when he was still involved with left-Hegelian circles.
Marx was an atheist but he was critical of a particular brand of what he considered “vulgar materialists” at his time who advocated for the abolition of religion without understanding its material basis. Marx agreed religion is illusory but that it is a necessary means of coping for many people. So the philosophers shouldn’t be focused on taking away the coping mechanism but to resolve the conditions that require coping.
It’s here, just the first few paragraphs (ending with “the criticism of Heaven turns into the criticism of Earth, the criticism of religion into the criticism of law, and the criticism of theology into the criticism of politics.”), not the whole thing. It’s so interesting and many non-Marxists dont know about his non-economic writing. This was written when he was around 25 years old, before the Communist Manifesto, when he was still involved with left-Hegelian circles.
Marx was an atheist but he was critical of a particular brand of what he considered “vulgar materialists” at his time who advocated for the abolition of religion without understanding its material basis. Marx agreed religion is illusory but that it is a necessary means of coping for many people. So the philosophers shouldn’t be focused on taking away the coping mechanism but to resolve the conditions that require coping.
Awesome, thanks! That’s pretty similar to the idea of religion I’ve had swirling around, will give it a read