Marxists Are Not on the “Right Side of History”
9th June 2017
One of the most common phrases to be heard from “the left” is the assertion that someone or some public policy is or is not on “the right side of history.” It has almost become a mantra by those who disagree with, hate, or are fearful of ideas and policies proposed by those generally characterized as being politically on “the right.”
The notion behind it is that “history” moves in a particular direction, toward some set of specific goals and societal forms, with each step in the historical process representing a “higher” and “better” stage or level than the preceding ones at which “society” has been operating.
This echoes what I’ve many times written here about ‘progressive’ ideology, that it assumes as an article of religion that progress is inevitable if only you change things around enough, a notion that was stolen from Marx and had the serial numbers filed off (not too competently).