Letter to the Editor

Chronicles, Apr 2023

Sent 13 May 2023 in response to Apr/May 2023 issue, published in Jun/Jul issue

Dear Editor,

Really enjoyed the Apr '23 'Is Wokeism Marxist?' issue. Many great points made. They're clearly not the same, but just as clearly related. I thought of MARX sidekick ENGELS' quote 'For Marxism to succeed, 3 things must be destroyed: religion (esp. Christianity), traditional values (esp. marriage) and capitalism (esp. private property), since this clarifies that he knew even then that a multi-front ideological war was necessary (tho the original vision was mainly economic). Also thot of Catholic 'seamless garment' arguments (tho I'm Protestant) i.e. just as Truth 'hangs together' its opposite also tends to. It seems likely to me that, like the Frankfort School and French postmodernism, American progressivism and social gospel-ism also derive from Marxism (from same source as earlier Christian heresies [i.e. Satan]) and together challenge those 3 targets of ENGELS. Keep up the great work.

Steve Sawyer
FH, AZ

Marx, Tailor of Errors

Dear Editors, I really enjoyed the April thematic issue, 'Is Wokeism Marxist?' There were many great points made. Wokeism and Marxism are clearly not the same, but just as clearly, they are related. Reading the essays in the issue, I thought of Karl Marx's state ambition to 'dethrone God and destroy capitalism'. This proves that he knew even in the 19C that his was a multi-front ideological war that included overthrowing religion and traditional values as well as the economic system.

Though I'm Protestant, I also thought of the Catholic 'seamless garment' argument, in which Christianity is supposed to combine the various threads of its ethical, religious, economic and political teaching into a unified moral vision. I think the inverse also is true: just as truth hangs together, error congregates, and thus Marxism and wokeism are cut from the same cloth.

It seems to me likely as well that, like the Frankfurt School and French postmodernism, American progressivism and the Social Gospel movement also derive from Marxism [no, same SOURCE tho] just as various heresies derived from a common Christian source [no, from a common Chr opponent; Satan].

Keep up the great work!

Steven P. Sawyer, FH, AZ