Was Marx an anti-semite?

[condor]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Karl_Marx

Read the 18th subject: Marx the anti-Semite. What do you think?

[Iron Felix]

The argument on that Marx was an anti-semite is based upon a grand misunderstand of his article "On The Jewish Question". Capitalites uses this writing to defame Marx, We know that Marx was no anti-semtie and The Jewish Question was a reponse to Bruno Bauers flagrant anti-semitism, but because of Marx's use of irony some people don't get the point Marx is trying to get across. The capitalites continue to discredit themselves.

[sovietsniper]

wasnt marx himself a jew? iv heard that for generathions both sides of his family were rabbis.

[Iron Felix]

Marx's father was a jew, coming from a long line of Rabbies. Marx's mother was not a jew, so technically Marx was not a jew.

[Volkov]

Originally posted by Iron Felix
The argument on that Marx was an anti-semite is based upon a grand misunderstand of his article "On The Jewish Question". Capitalites uses this writing to defame Marx, We know that Marx was no anti-semtie and The Jewish Question was a reponse to Bruno Bauers flagrant anti-semitism, but because of Marx's use of irony some people don't get the point Marx is trying to get across. The capitalites continue to discredit themselves.

This is true.  Most of those capitalists have not even read what Marx stated in response to Bruno Bauer.  

Wikipedia states in regards to this:

Critique of bourgeois democracy and of anti-Semitism

Some scholars have presented an alternative reading of Marx, primarily based on his essay On the Jewish Question. Economist Tyler Cowen, historian Marvin Perry, and political scientist Joshua Muravchik have suggested that what they see as an intense hatred for the "Jewish Class" was part of Marx's belief that if he could convince his contemporaries and the public to hate Jewish capitalists, the public would eventually come to hate non-Jewish capitalists as well.

Most scholars reject this claim for two reasons: first, it is based on two short essays written in the 1840s, and ignores the bulk of Marx's analysis of capitalism written in the following years. Second, it distorts the argument of On the Jewish Question, in which Marx deconstructs liberal notions of emancipation. During the Enlightenment, philosophers and political theorists argued that religious authority had been oppressing human beings, and that religion must be separated from the functions of the state for people to be truly free. Following the French Revolution, many people were thus calling for the emancipation of the Jews.

At the same time, many argued that Christianity is a more enlightened and advanced religion than Judaism. For example, Marx's former mentor, Bruno Bauer, argued that Christians need to be emancipated only once (from Christianity), and Jews need to be emancipated twice — first from Judaism (presumably, by converting to Christianity), then from religion altogether.

Marx rejects Bauer's argument as a form of Christian ethnocentrism, if not anti-Semitic. Marx proceeds to turn Bauer's language, and the rhetoric of anti-Semites, upside down to make a more progressive argument. First, he points out that Bruno Bauer's argument is too parochial because it considers Christianity to be more evolved than Judaism, and because it narrowly defines the problem that requires emancipation to be religion. Marx instead argues that the issue is not religion, but capitalism. Pointing out that anti-Semitic stereotypes of Jews are fundamentally anti-capitalist, Marx provides a theory of anti-Semitism by suggesting that anti-Semites scapegoat Jews for capitalism because too many non-Jews benefit from, or are invested in capitalism, to attack capitalism directly.

Marx also uses this rhetoric ironically to develop his critique of bourgeois notions of emancipation. Marx points out that the bourgeois notion of freedom is predicated on choice (in politics, through elections; in the economy, through the market), but that this form of freedom is anti-social and alienating. Although Bauer and other liberals believe that emancipation means freedom to choose, Marx argues that this is at best a very narrow notion of freedom. Thus, what Bauer believes would be the emancipation of the Jews is for Marx actually alienation, not emancipation. After explaining that he is not referring to real Jews or to the Jewish religion, Marx appropriates this anti-Semitic rhetoric against itself (in a way that parallels his Hegelian argument that capitalism contains the seeds of its own destruction) by using "Judaism" ironically as a metaphor for capitalism. In this sense, Marx states, all Europeans are "Jewish". This is a pun on two levels. First, if the Jews must be emancipated, Marx is saying that all Europeans must be emancipated. Second, if by "Judaism" one really means "capitalism," then far from Jews needing to be emancipated from Christianity (as Bauer called for), Christians need to be emancipated from Judaism (meaning, bourgeois society). See: works by historian Hal Draper and David McLellan.

[marxiawathicommunist]

Well wikipedia had made an article of that work so that Vandals can leave Marx article alone. It can be found http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Jewish_Question

[The Evil Stalinist]

ummm well that'd be pretty hard considering that he was Jewish by birth and then much later became an atheist.

[Smoke-joe]

Why? Many people coming from a religious family become atheist in their later life.
e.g. Stalin who wanted to become priest or Friedrich Nietzsche.

[Zatoichi]

Marx was NOT an Anti-semite, in modern times do you call an African American who throws around few slanders or talks about his race in a bold way a racist? No!

What Marx was really saying is that ALL the stereotypes attributed to Jews; Greed, cheap, mischievous etc
should be attributed to the Capitalist class instead.

[Rosa Lichtenstein]

This myth is well and truly buried here:

http://www.marxists.org/archive/draper/1977/kmtr1/app1.htm

[Dimitri]

Marx was not an anti Semite as others have pointed out.

But for example in a letter he wrote to Engels he made some remarks that would be considered racist against the black people in this day(and they are in my opinion) as well both Marx and Engels have made some sexist remarks.

That being said I don't think that the fact that maybe Marx has shown some racism, has anything to do with being a Marxist or not. We are Marxists because we agree on Marx and Engel's analysis of capitalism and how to overthrow it(of course that being expanded by Lenin, Trotsky and Ted Grant among others.

We don't care if Marx was a racist on some issues or not. We are not and we fight against racism, which we aknowledge that will end when the material conditions come for its ending(ie socialism).

[Christopher Hill]

Marx was NOT an Anti-semite, in modern times do you call an African American who throws around few slanders or talks about his race in a bold way a racist? No!

What Marx was really saying is that ALL the stereotypes attributed to Jews; Greed, cheap, mischievous etc
should be attributed to the Capitalist class instead.

EXACTLY!! Hit the nail on the head.

[Paula Marx]

That was exactly what I was afraid of because I read his opinion about Jewish question.
But I don't think he was. There are still lots of Jewish communists.
And when you remember Hitler called Marx a Jew -.-
Hitler had strong opinions and it's really truth if you put a capitalist instead of Jew

[Rosa Lichtenstein]

Paula, what do you mean by this?

Hitler had strong opinions and it's really truth if you put a capitalist instead of Jew

[Paula Marx]

Paula, what do you mean by this?

Hitler had strong opinions and it's really truth if you put a capitalist instead of Jew

While I was reading Mein Kampf, there were some things I agreed with. There were also some neurotic, idiotic nonsenses like stuff against Jews. I am quarter Jew and I really can't stand Nazis.
While I was thinking about their politics, I tried to put an Imperialist on some places where it's written Jew and it does make sense.
You can think about that as a metaphor. If there wasn't World War 2, I would definetly believe that Hitler wrote in metaphors because I wouldn't understand it this way it is.