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This
is
a
succinctly
brilliant
gloss
by
writer
China
Mi茅ville
on
the
document
that
still
haunts
both
the
hopes
and
fears
of
people
(depending
on
where
they
sit
on
the
political
spectrum).
For
instance,
in
the
last
election
that
landed
Joe
Biden
in
the
White
House,
Trump
(and
others)
felt
he
could
still
get
mileage
out
of
calling
people
communists
and
socialists,
and
how
ready
American
pundits,
newscasters
and
other
information-spreaders
are
to
cut
off
any
discussion
of
changing
the
status
quo
by
lobbing
in
the
c-word
and
s-word.
The
only
time
the
s-word
is
used
approvingly
is
in
the
capitalist
equation
of
"privatize
the
profits,
socialize
the
risk."
Mi茅ville
begins
with
a
brief
introduction
that
poses
the
question
the
rest
of
his
book
will
try
to
answer:
"What
is The Communist Manifesto in this
moment?"
(4)
He
also
uses
a
phrase
that
has
now
entered
my
lexicon:
"But
nowhere
do
I
pretend
to
be
dispassionate
or
neutral.
I
hope
I've
been
neither
uncritical
nor
dogmatic,
that
I've
avoided
surrendering
to
the
habits
of
cosplay leftism.
" [Emphasis added] (6)
And he notes that, for him and many others, "the Manifesto is no mere historical curio, but a restless, urgent, vital document." (7)
The next chapters (1 through 5) explicate the Manifesto:
on
its
form,
in
its
time,
its
outline,
evaluations
and
criticisms,
all
of
which
are
interesting
but
have
the
feel
of
a
dissertation
(though
a
very
energetic
one
that
does
not
follow
academic
niceties).
The
parts
on
gender
and
race
(that
is,
gendering,
racializing)
are
really
good.
Chapter
6
is
where
Mi茅ville
voices
his
own
views
most
strongly,
especially
in
the
subsection
"On
Hate"
(156).
He
brings
up
something
I've
often
thought
about:
what
are
the
emotional,
strategic
and
organizing
benefits
of
a
strong,
principled
hatred?
Hate
should
never
be
trusted,
nor
treated
as
safe,
nor
celebrated
for
its
own
sake.
But,
inevitable,
it
should
not
be
ignored.
Nor
is
it
automatically
undeserved.
Nor,
perhaps,
can
we
do
without
it,
not
if
we
are
to
remain
human,
in
a
hateful
epoch
that
pathologizes
radical
hate
and
encourages
outrage
fatigue.
And
nor
is
careful
hate
necessarily
an
enemy
of
liberation.
It
might
be
its
ally.
(161)
He is careful to point out, many times, that the hatred is not a hatred of individuals but of a class (the bourgeoisie, the ruling class) and of the system that that class inflicts upon everyone else: "The eradication of the bourgeoisie as a class is the eradication of bourgeoisie rule, of capitalism, of exploitation, of the boot on the neck of humanity. This is why the working class doesn't need sadism, nor even revenge—and why it not only can, but must, hate. It must hate its class enemy, and capitalism itself."
(166)
Other quotes, just because he writes so well:
Who
would
we
be
not
to
hate
this
system,
and
its
partisans?
…
This
is
a
system
that,
whatever
else,
deserves
implacable
hatred
for
its
countless
and
escalating
cruelties.
(165)
Hatred is necessary for dignity, which means for political agency. (166)
We must hate harder than did the Manifesto,
for
the
sake
of
humanity.
Such
class
hate
is
constitutive
with
and
inextricable
from
solidarity,
the
drive
for
human
liberty,
for
the
full
development
of
the
human,
the
/
ethic
of
emancipation
implicit
throughout
the Manifesto and beyond. We should hate this world, with and through and beyond and even more than does the Manifesto.
We
should
hate
this
hateful
and
hating
and
hatemongering
system
of
cruelty,
that
exhausts
and
withers
and
kills
us,
that
stunts
our
care,
makes
it
so
embattled
and
constrained
and
local
in
its
scale
and
effects,
where
we
have
the
capacity
to
be
greater.
…
It's
for
the
sake
of
love
that,
reading
it
today,
we
must
hate
more
and
better
than
even The Communist Manifesto knew how. (167-168)
The book ends, appropriately enough, with a copy of the Manifesto for all to read and ponder.
On Feb. 24, 2023, Mi茅ville was interviewed by Brook Gladstone of On
the
Media on a program titled "Who Profits?" [https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/episodes/2] Hearing Mi茅ville's voice speak out about this topic rather than just read his fierce words adds an aid to comprehension of the Manifesto's
power
and
purpose,
to
feel
in
the
gut
and
not
just
the
head
what
Marx
and
Engels
were
trying
to
provoke:
explosive
anger
governed
by
a
rigorous
analysis;
a
molten
coolheadedness;
an
oath
to
fight;
a
joy
in
fighting.
Worth the read. Worth the listen.
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