This July 1–2, almost 150 people gathered in Edmonton for the fourth annual Western Canadian Marxist Summer School. With a focus on Marxism, the philosophy of revolution, this is the biggest edition of the event yet. This success shows the growing capabilities of the Marxists of Western Canada and the hunger for revolutionary ideas in the so-called “Texas of Canada”.
The school also attracted revolutionaries from across Canada and the world. Attendance from the east hit record levels: 16 attended from Québec and 26 from Ontario. Three people came from the U.S.A. and one all the way from Argentina. As internationalists, the Marxists in Alberta are proud that our event could help educate comrades from around the world.
The struggle for Marxist philosophy
With more than a million communist youth in Canada, there could not be a better time to stand up and defend the revolutionary philosophy of Marxism. With environmental and social crises raging, millions of people are questioning the tired ideas of capitalism. Many are looking for revolutionary explanations. Western Canada is no exception to this, as the growth of this event shows.
The first day began with a discussion on the history of philosophy, kicked off by a presentation by Fightback Alberta activist Holly. Marxism gives us a profound way of looking at the development of human thought. Introducing the discussion, Holly explained the laws behind the development of ideas, the Marxist answer to the main debates of philosophy. Marxism is the result of the long historical development of philosophy. Philosophy has always been part of the class struggle, and Marxism consciously recognizes this, placing itself on the side of the working class.
Philosophy is not just an abstract question. Marxism is a philosophy of action. As Marx said: “The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point is to change it.” With Marxism, the task of philosophy is not just to sit and think, it is to change the world. Marxism is a weapon in the hands of the working class. Marxists understand that there is an objective world which we can understand with scientific investigation. Armed with this scientific analysis, the working class can change the world.
However, most of the left today has capitulated to the philosophy of postmodernism, as Fightback Alberta activist Josie explained in her introduction to the session on Marxism vs Postmodernism. These two schools of thought are completely opposed. Postmodernism is based on the philosophy of subjective idealism, it denies that objective, scientific knowledge is possible. In this way, it sows division and obscures the real laws at work in society, disarming the working class. For this reason, fighting the reactionary ideas of postmodernism is vital for Marxists in the struggle to change the world.
A profound theory
Our critics often accuse Marxists of “economic determinism”. We’re told we reduce everything to economics. Nothing could be further from the truth. Marxism is far deeper than just economics. It is a rich theory that can be applied to all aspects of life, from economics, to mathematics, to science and art, revealing the laws of how these things develop. But in the final analysis, societies that contain a given culture or ideas must all produce the necessities of life. This means that economic pressures constantly assert themselves. Far from erasing the contributions of individuals, Marxism shows that individuals play a vital role in developing ideas, but not independent of time and space.
At this summer school, enthusiasm for the profound explanations of Marxism was palpable, especially in the session on Marxism and Science. A presentation by Fightback Edmonton activist Chase highlighted the dialectical laws in nature itself. The discussion covered a wide range of topics, from the origin of human consciousness, to cosmology and mathematics, to the need for a conscious scientific philosophy. One lesson was clear: the crisis of the capitalist system has created a crisis of science. By freeing up the most talented people from meaningless work and the straight-jacket of capitalist funding, a socialist society would free science from the shackles of the profit-motive.
How to change the world
Being a tool for struggle, Marxist theory helps us analyze society, pointing action in the right direction. This was evident in the session on the crisis in Alberta. The Albertan working class faces another four years under the madness of Danielle Smith. And the environmental crisis—which is radicalizing millions of young people—is raging.
The technology exists to deal with climate change and environmental crises like abandoned oil wells. But capitalism is totally unable to address these things, for the simple reason that it is not profitable to do so. However, the deepening crisis will force the working class to fight, sooner or later. The working class will have many opportunities to take power in the coming years, creating a socialist society where humans will finally be able to live in harmony with nature.
But to do this, the working class needs a revolutionary leadership, guided by the best theory, which tactics flow from. This was the principal lesson of the discussion on the German Revolution of 1919–1923. The real history of the German Revolution is largely hidden today. This magnificent revolution ended the First World War. Its reverberations shook the world, even being felt as far away as Canada.
The period after the First World War was one of world revolution. Germany was key to the whole world revolution. But despite many chances to take power, lacking revolutionary leadership, the German working class was defeated. This was a shattering defeat for the whole world working class and changed the course of history.
But the task of Marxists is not to grieve the past. It is to understand it. Using the Marxist method, we can pull the lessons from past struggles. And as the discussion revealed, the German Revolution is full of lessons on revolutionary strategy, above all the need for a revolutionary party. By learning these lessons and using them in the struggle today, we can ensure the struggle of the German workers was not in vain.
In defense of Marxism
In the final session on In Defense of Marxism, Fightback editor Joel Bergman drew all these lessons together. He gave an overview of the debate in the American Socialist Workers Party in the 1930s on the class-nature of the Soviet Union. The disagreements in this debate had philosophical disagreements under the surface. In this debate, Trotsky defended the Marxist method as a fundamental tool in the class struggle.
This debate shows the unconscious way ideas develop according to the position of different classes in society, and the conflict between those classes. This happens in an astonishingly dynamic way.
The lesson drawn out by Joel, above all, is that a revolutionary organization must have a clear, working-class philosophy. Staying on a correct political line requires the most advanced Marxist philosophy. But in capitalist society, the dominant ideas are those of the capitalist class. Without a constant struggle for a working class philosophy, these ideas will infect the revolutionary party, effectively disarming it.
A milestone event
As the event wrapped up, the overwhelming feeling was enthusiasm. Attendees expressed their desire to cultivate their understanding of Marxist theory. They were also enthused to put these ideas into practice. This event was a huge milestone in educating the forces of Marxism in revolutionary theory, which will allow them to make sense of the twists and turns of politics today.
Just after the first Western Summer School we wrote: “We hope to build the Edmonton Marxist Summer School into a yearly rallying point for anyone interested in revolutionary Marxism in the west of the country!” Four years later, we’ve taken a massive step toward this goal.
