My dad and I have argued about Trumpism for years with no real progress. I’ve shown him articles, videos, and evidence to no effect. My angry responses only drove him further away.
The Marxist method, however, gave me a different way in: instead of telling him he was wrong, I acted in a patient, systematic, and persistent way.
I asked him:
- Why did you choose to support Trump? The economy.
- Why do you think he’s good for the economy? He’s kicking China out.
- How has that helped workers? —
The conversation went on for over an hour—the longest we’ve spoken since 2016.
I was able to walk him through the contradictions of capitalism and the relationship between a commodity’s price and the labor embodied in it. By the end of the call, he used the exact phrase “crisis of overproduction.”
Patiently explaining and being curious was the key to reopening a door that had been closed for a decade.