this post was submitted on 01 Jul 2025
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Third worldism, as i understand it, the position that the working class in the imperial core is inherently reactionary and thus an enemy, is a completely natural position to take for a global south person. Western marxists feel personally attacked for this position and end up rejecting it and discrediting it. This is not to say that there are no good comrades in the West, but simply that the vast majority are not.
Honestly it's a good way to lure out the chauvinism of western marxists.
Domenico Losurdo has written extensively on this on "Western Marxism".
From what I've heard though, Perry Anderson's work on Western Marxism is a good read and I have it on my list.
Wait, from the perspective of a Third Worldist, isn’t Perry Anderson’s Western Marxism precisely the problem? That’s at least what I gathered, without having read Losurdo specifically, from reviews of his work such as this one https://monthlyreview.org/press/201187/
yes, it's precisely that. its like recommending kautsky after mentioning lenin.
Wdym
I've heard mixed things, good and bad, and that's why I (partly) intend to read it, but keep in mind that Monthly Review, while good, isn't the only authority on Marxism-Leninism.
I will give you my thoughts and report back on the book; at the very least, Perry Anderson has been quite critical of Western Marxism.