Synthesized answer
A Marxist analysis, particularly concerning the formation of an independent working-class party, would dedicate a chapter to "The Role of the Farmers" because Marx and Engels predicted them to be allies of the working class [1, 4]. This alliance is seen as a consequence of the agrarian crisis and their expropriation by big business, leading to their dissatisfaction [1, 4]. Marx believed the revolutionization of farmers, along with the awakening of Black people, would create favorable circumstances for the constitution of an earnest workers' party [1, 4].
However, the inclusion of farmers presents challenges. Engels argued that American farmers, as a class, lack the strength to form an independent political party because they are composed of rapidly changing elements, are often wandering, and their economic dependence on creditors hinders independence [2]. He also stated that attempts to form an independent farmers' party would make it a plaything for petty bourgeois political speculators and an appendage of the capitalist parties [1, 2]. The passages suggest that working farmers can only defend their interests against finance capital under the leadership of a mass party of…
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From the book
← Chapter 5 Marx and Engels on Revolution in America by Heinz Neumann VI. The Role of the Farmers Chapter 7 → 4304485 Marx and Engels on Revolution in America — VI. The Role of the Farmers Heinz Neumann VI. The Role of the Farmers. I N his letter of July 25, 1877, Marx predicted the role of the farmers, who are being revolutionized in consequence of the agrarian crisis and their expropriation through big business, as that of the allies of the working class. He designated the revolutionization of the farmers as well as the beginning of the Negroes' awakening "to favorable circumstances" for…
the two capitalist parties: "The small farmers and petty bourgeoisie will scarcely ever be able to form a strong party. They are composed of too rapidly changing elements—the farmer is often a wandering farmer, who cultivates two, three or four farms in different states and territories one after the other; immigration and bankruptcy promote the change of personnel in both; economic dependence upon creditors also hinders independence—but to make up for that they are excellent material for politicians, who speculate with their dissatisfaction in order to sell them later to one of the big…
s, mining, etc., companies will make THE PEASANTS OF THE WEST, who are already very dissatisfied, ALLIES OF THE WORKERS. So that a nice sauce is being stirred over there, and the transference of the center of the International to the United States may obtain a very remarkable post festum opportuneness." Marx thus demanded, in consequence of the changes which had taken place in the United States since the Civil War, the "constitution of an earnest workers' party." In this connection it is of great importance that he emphasized the special role of the farmers in view of the agrarian crisis…
← Chapter 3 Marx and Engels on Revolution in America by Heinz Neumann IV. The Formation of an Independent Working Class Party Chapter 5 → 4304482 Marx and Engels on Revolution in America — IV. The Formation of an Independent Working Class Party Heinz Neumann IV. The Formation of an Independent Working Class Party. A S early as July 25, 1877, Marx wrote to Engels; "What do you think of the workers of the United States? This first explosion against the associated oligarchy of capital, which has arisen since the Civil War, will naturally again be suppressed, but can very well form THE POINT OF…
oductive forces." Marx and Engels clearly realized the future role of America in the class strugle of the proletariat. In his third preface to the "Communist Manifesto" in 1883, Engels stated: "The limited extent of the spread of the proletarian movement at the time the Manifesto was first published (January, 1848), is best demonstrated by the last chapter: 'The Attitude of the Communists of the Various Opposition Parties.' First of all, Russia and the United States are missing in this chapter…" Engels calls both countries "the great reserve of European reaction." He recalls the period "in…
More questions about this book
- Explain how Neumann's opening assertion, that the U.S. assumed England's predominant role in the "imperialist epoch," provides a fundamental historical and economic lens for understanding the *nature* of the revolution discussed in "Marx and Engels on Revolution in America."
- Considering the progression from "Historical Peculiarities of the American Labor Movement" to "The Formation of an Independent Working Class Party" in the chapter titles, how would you articulate the logical steps Neumann likely follows to build his argument about the necessary conditions for revolution?
- Given "The Little Red Library's" explicit mission to publish "definitely proletarian in character and treatment" material, how might this editorial stance influence the selection, interpretation, and ultimate presentation of Marx and Engels' ideas about revolution?
- If you were to explain the immediate practical purpose of publishing "Marx and Engels on Revolution in America" in 1925 for "The Little Red Library's" audience, what specific contemporary issues or debates in the American labor movement do you believe it aimed to directly address?