Is Class Struggle “Eurocentric?” Marxism vs. Postcolonialism

Postcolonial theorists claim that Marxism is “Eurocentric.” They view culture as primary, and thus advocate a struggle against imperialism purely along cultural and linguistic lines. These methods will never achieve liberation for the oppressed, yet they hold sway in much of academia and filter into social movements. 

Marxists start from opposite premises: imperialist oppression is based on economic relations, and the class struggle is the decisive element in the former colonial world.

This discussion will address questions such as: how communists understand imperialism, the history of communist involvement in national liberation struggles, and what we can do in the United States today to fight and end imperialism.

Reading list:

Articles

• Marxism vs Postmodernism – Daniel Morley and Hamid Alizadeh
• Marxism vs. Identity Politics – RCI
• The 2025 Italian General Strike for Gaza – RCI International Secretariat

Podcasts/Videos

• Marxism vs Postcolonialism – Hamid Alizadeh

Additional Reading:

• Imperialism, Chapter 6 (Division of the World Among the Great Powers) – V.I. Lenin
• Palestine: The Failure of the Two-State Solution and the Communist Alternative – Josh Holroyd