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This article argues that dominant social thought is rooted in the material interests of the capitalist class, taking serious Marx’s maxim that “the ideas of the ruling class are in every epoch the ruling ideas.” The article identifies three broad tendencies within dominant thought, namely: centrist liberalism, postmodern leftism, and neo-fascist reactionary thought. The article goes on to identify the correlation between each of these tendencies’ inherent anti-Marxism with the ruling class location of each tendency’s primary proponents. In so doing, the article also offers an elucidation of the basic philosophical and political program of the Marxist tradition, highlighting why dialectical materialism remains applicable, convincing, and alluring today.
Joshua Lew McDermott (Wed,) studied this question.