On Career Marxism
As my twitter avatar notes I am a ‘marxist trade unionist’. Those however are not my words but those of the Guardian.
Career Marxism is a rather different issue. The term appeared on social media in respect of University Vice Chancellors who are imposing salary reductions on academics during the UCU’s marking and assessment boycott.
While it might be argued that combining Marxism and trade unionism is possible and perhaps on occasion essential, combining it with a senior management role in a University (these days in effect a business) is a contradiction too far.
Genuine Career Marxism does not pay and we need look no further than Karl Marx himself to understand this. Marx did earn money from writing articles for papers- his international connections along with Engels meant he was well placed to do this. However he lived generally from month to month and relied on subsidies from Engels and family bequests to keep going.
A career in Marxism is certainly possible, but it doesn’t pay. If it does pay the Marxism has got lost along the way.
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