LETTER: Like capitalism, Marxism can lead to good and bad outcomes

To Ozaukee Press:

In his recent letter to the editor, Duffy Brelsford made some comments that mischaracterize and oversimplify some very complex issues regarding the Blacks Lives Matter movement.

Marxism is a method of economic and sociological analysis. At its core is the study of the relationship between the exploited and the exploiter. This method has been used for good and bad, just as capitalist economics and social darwinism have. I think we can all agree that totalitarianism is the last thing we all want.

Now, I am a layperson, but it seems to me that if we are to find the best outcome for every person living in this country, we need to use every tool of analysis and social criticism that we have access to. And if an entire methodology is based on the study of the very issue at hand—the social and economical relationships of a people who gained physical freedom yet remained in economic slavery—it should be one of the first places we look.

I agree with Mr. Brelsford’s comment about learning lessons from history, but I think he applied it incorrectly. Since the first indentured colonists came to Jamestown in 1614, our nation has profited from the exploitation of first one group’s cheap labor, then another’s and another’s. While we had times of increased prosperity for some, we have never found a way to elevate ourselves as a whole. I, too, hope the lessons of history are heeded.

Repeating the same action over and over expecting a different result is a sure sign of insanity. I hope we can together find a way to break this cycle.

Michael Buikus
Port Washington