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?
You engage them as human beings. Agree with them when you agree with them. Challenge them when they get reactionary. Be open about your politics but don’t make your entire relationship with them about politics. This is how you build trust.
Their experience will inform their ideology. And if they trust you as a person, one day they may be curious about communist thought.
Developing consciousness is a long-term battle, not an overnight one.