It just feels so hard. People constantly complain about their material conditions, yet when someone comes to them with Marx-Engels, they immediately brush it off. They are more keen on falling to mysticism and far-right ideology, in regards to “solutions”. I know you cannot convince people by debating them, you can only make yourself feel good when you “win”, but otherwise you are likely only making them less likely to latch on to socialism. Still, I don’t know how to approach this. How do I convince them? Do I constantly, in every conversation about how the grocery prices are too high, mention the theories of Marx? Do I just sit around until they, on their own accord, pick up Capital or even just the Manifesto?
Whaddoido?
Have you been to any organizer training? It could definitely help in your approach. The IWW one I attended a few years ago was definitely helpful.
I think it’s crucial to remember that people aren’t just passive containers of information, but also agents who make themselves through their actions, especially together with others. And it’s this action that is an especially important driver of change.
In my case, I was part of a union campaign at work with a few coworkers. They were left-leaning nerds, but more nerdy than left-leaning. Our campaign was long, and we didn’t win, but it changed each of us for good. We came to see, concretely, what was possible with collective action. I don’t think any amount of theory or history could match that practical lesson.
Important to remember that “logic” is often a retrospective process for justifying existing emotions about things. People get the information you’re transmitting when you connect on an emotional level and make sure your logos is well tied to the sorts of pathos and ethos they are receptive to. Of course this is all grounded in individuals’ material circumstances and personal practice.