The Devil and Karl Marx | Dr. Paul Kengor | EP 455

Coming up (0s)

• The Communist Manifesto's famous line "workers of the World Unite" is often remembered, but the following paragraphs emphasize the Communists' support for revolutionary movements and the forcible overthrow of existing conditions.

Intro (26s)

• Paul Kengor, author of several books including "The Crusader Ronald Reagan and the fall of Communism" and editor of the American Spectator, discusses his book "The Devil and Karl Marx."
• The book explores Karl Marx's work as a poet and playwright, shedding light on the underlying motivations for his economic theories.
• Kengor and Jordan Peterson delve into the Mephistophelian nature of Marx's poetic fantasies and how they shaped his murderous doctrine as a political theorist and economist.

The Devil and Karl Marx (2m16s)

• Peterson shares his observation that students often include or want to show him poems when given free reign to write essays, which led to his first book starting as a 40-page poem.
• Peterson discusses Carl Jung's analysis of creative thought, emphasizing the role of fantasizing about something to gain a new understanding of it.
• Peterson explains the progression from dreams to drama to poems, where dreams meet the verbal and become more semantic and explicit.

The dark poetry of Karl Marx (4m8s)

• Marx had a passion for poetry before becoming an economist.
• His early work provides insight into his motivations and the story he envisioned.
• Marx's poetry is deeply disturbing and often centers around the devil.
• One of Marx's early published writings, "Lucifer" (1837), is about the devil.
• In "The Player" (1841), Marx portrays himself as a mad violinist summoning dark powers to impress his love interest, possibly Jenny, whom he later married.
• Marx's poetry from an early age reveals his fascination with the devil.

Goethe’s Faust, Mephistopheles and anti-being (7m43s)

• Karl Marx admired the character Mephistopheles from Goethe's Faust, who represents the devil and argues that existence and its suffering make non-existence preferable.
• Marx's anti-natalist views, similar to Mephistopheles', propose that the only ethical action is to end all existence and consciousness.
• Marx's favorite quote from Mephistopheles, "Everything that exists deserves to perish," reflects his nihilistic and destructive philosophy.
• Marx's early writings reveal his philosophical leanings before his focus on economics and political theory, including his admiration for Mephistopheles.
• Marx and Engels sought to abolish private property, capital, the family, and the present state of things, reflecting a nihilistic and destructive approach.

How Marx lived: disorder and disgust (16m47s)

• Marx was filthy in terms of personal hygiene.
• He lived in disorder.
• His father noticed his disordered lifestyle while he was in college.
• After Marx got married, his life became a wreck.
• His family had to constantly beg for money.
• After his father died, Marx visited his mother to get money from her.
• Marx's wife, Jenny, also begged her wealthy relatives for money.
• Marx had a strained relationship with his family.
• He did not attend his father's funeral, possibly out of spite or due to weather conditions.
• He was interested in his father's money and wrote to his wife about getting money from his mother.
• Jenny's wealthy relatives eventually cut her off due to her constant begging.

Marx’s nursemaid, to refuse your own child (18m52s)

• Marx's family knew that when Marx and Jenny needed money, they would come knocking on their door.
• Jenny's family eventually refused to give them more money, but they lent them their nursemaid, Helen Demuth (nicknamed "Lenin"), to help out.
• Marx never paid Lenin any money for her services.
• This situation foreshadows the later communist revolutions, where the working class is exploited for the benefit of the ruling class.
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• Marx had an affair with Lenin behind Jenny's back, resulting in a pregnancy.
• Robert Payne suggests that the sex might have been non-consensual, but there is no concrete evidence to support this claim.
• Jenny was devastated and never truly forgave Marx for his infidelity.
• Friedrich Engels, Marx's financial benefactor, stepped forward to accept paternity of the child, who was named Freddy.
• Marx never acknowledged Freddy as his son or provided any financial support for him.
• Freddy outlived all of Marx's other children.

Marx wouldn’t bathe: boils and rage (23m27s)

• Marx's family life was in disarray, with four of his children dying before him and his two surviving daughters committing suicide.
• The Marx household was dirty and in complete disarray, with police reports warning of the danger of sitting in their chairs.
• Marx suffered from boils and carbuncles, which were at their worst when he was writing Das Kapital.
• Marx refused to bathe, which may have contributed to his health problems.

The Communist Manifesto (25m30s)

• The Communist Manifesto is not a work of economics, but rather a philosophical statement or a poem.
• Marx saw himself as a philosopher and a poet, rather than an economist.
• The Communist Manifesto is a short work, only 56 pages long, and is often taken up as a rallying point due to its inspiring language and revolutionary catchphrases.

Slogans over substance (28m33s)

• The radical left is skilled at creating catchy phrases and slogans.
• Examples include "gender-affirming care" and "diversity, equity, and inclusivity."
• The word "slogan" comes from the Welsh words "slag" and "gam," meaning "battle cry of the dead."
• Karl Marx was adept at sloganeering, with the most famous example being "workers of the world unite" from The Communist Manifesto.
• However, the manifesto's true message lies in its support for revolutionary movements and the forcible overthrow of existing conditions.

Why was an atheist writing about Satan? (29m55s)

• Karl Marx, despite claiming atheism, expressed allegiance to Mephistopheles, a figure associated with the devil, in his 1837 poem.
• Marx's writings frequently incorporated religious tropes and notions, despite his professed atheism.
• Marx's famous phrase "from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs" is a distorted version of a New Testament scripture.
• Many individuals on the left, including online trolls, adopt satanic names and imagery, suggesting an interest in the devil.
• Marx's association with the devil and religious themes raises questions about his true atheism.
• Marx was born in Trier, Germany, a deeply religious city with a significant Roman Catholic presence.
• Trier is also the birthplace of St. Ambrose, who influenced St. Augustine's conversion to Christianity.
• Marx's wife, Jenny, was an atheist.
• Marx's 1841 poem "The Player" features a demonic violinist summoning darkness while wearing the holy robe of Christ from Trier's cathedral.
• Jenny ridiculed those who venerated the robe during the annual festival.

Marx’s ethnicity and early religion, how this influenced his work (35m59s)

• Marx was born into a Jewish family in Trier, Germany, in 1818.
• His father converted to Lutheranism, while his mother remained Jewish.
• Marx was baptized as a Christian at the age of five or six.
• He was a dedicated Christian throughout his teenage years.
• In college, he came under the influence of ideas that led him to question his faith.

Why did the biographers ignore Marx’s poetry and faith? (37m59s)

• Many Marx biographers are leftists and ignore his religious beliefs.
• The first Marx biographer to discover Marx's demonic poetry and plays presented them to Marx's daughter and suggested they should not be published.
• A communist with integrity, David Riazanov, published the poetry and plays in the 1920s.
• Robert Payne, Paul Johnson, and Pastor Richard Wurmbrand later wrote about Marx's religious beliefs.
• Most Marx biographers continue to ignore his religious beliefs.

Why and when did Marx become an atheist? Professor Bruno Bauer (39m14s)

• Karl Marx became an atheist under the influence of his anti-Semitic professor, Dr. Bruno Bauer.
• Marx and Bauer collaborated on a journal called "Annals of Atheism," which ultimately failed due to financial constraints.
• Marx's atheism and intellectual arrogance led him to harshly criticize various aspects of society, including human life, and engage in destructive behaviors.
• Marx's poetry reflects his desire for destruction and his self-perception as a judge and executioner of humanity.
• Marx had a contentious personality and struggled to maintain positive relationships with others.
• Marx's anti-Semitic views included comparing the Jewish faith to something repulsive and expressing sentiments similar to those of Adolf Hitler.
• Marx identified with Mephistopheles and possessed a luciferian intellect.

How Marx was described by those who knew him (47m3s)

• Marx wrote poems and plays with satanic themes, such as "Ulanm," an anagram for Emmanuel, the name given to Christ.
• Marx's son, Edgar, addressed him as "my dear devil," and his wife called him "my wicked Nave."
• Engels described Marx as a "dark man from Prussia who hops and leaps and springs on his heels, the monster of 10,000 Devils."
• Marx's father wrote to him in 1837, expressing concern that his heart was governed by a demon and questioning whether he would ever be capable of truly human domestic happiness.
• Marx's early poems, written before he became an atheist, were critical of Mephistopheles.
• After becoming an atheist, Marx continued to write poems and plays with satanic themes.
• Marx's writings, including "The Communist Manifesto," were written during the same decade as his satanic poems and plays.
• Throughout his life, Marx expressed a belief that everything that exists deserves to perish.

Was Karl Marx a Satanist? (51m40s)

• Karl Marx, a prominent figure in communist ideology, displayed a fascination with Mephistopheles, a symbol of evil in German intellectual tradition, suggesting his adherence to a malevolent ethos.
• Robert Payne, a British academic, and Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, a victim of communist persecution, both believed that Marx held Satanic beliefs and engaged in ritualistic practices.
• Vladimir Lenin, a communist leader, exhibited anti-religious behavior by discarding a cross and was responsible for the deaths of millions.
• Marx's economic theories were influenced by dark forces that drove people towards destructive and murderous tendencies.
• Communists, including Marx, actively sought to eradicate religion, demonstrating their hostility towards God and religious neutrality.
• The Soviet Union, under the leadership of Lenin and Trotsky, aggressively promoted atheism, suppressing religious practices and persecuting believers.
• The League of the Militant Godless, an organization established to combat religion, played a significant role in closing churches, imprisoning priests, and destroying religious symbols.
• The text suggests a parallel between militant anti-religious atheism and Satanic ideology, arguing that the actions of communist regimes against religion closely resemble the work of Satan.
• According to the author, actively working to destroy religious institutions and persecute believers is a more profound manifestation of Satanism than engaging in ritualistic satanic activities without causing direct harm.

Presentism and the arrogance of Leftism (58m41s)

• Radical leftists claim moral superiority without significant accomplishments and judge historical figures by today's standards, ignoring the relativity of goodness.
• The author argues that it is difficult to separate the products of thought from the personality of the person, especially in the case of Marx, who held racist views.
• Marx and Engels used racial slurs against their son-in-law, Paul Lafargue, who was partly Cuban.
• Marx's personal beliefs align with his writings, advocating for the forcible overthrow of all existing social conditions and the destruction of everything, not just the redistribution of wealth.
• Radical protesters may aim to tear down symbols and institutions without fully understanding their significance.
• Marx's doctrine involves the worship of destruction and power, with a desire for universal destruction and forcible overthrow, suggesting a preference for the act of destruction rather than the end state.
• Communist countries celebrate sadistic devastation, using the promise of a new Utopia as a cover.
• Marx's Manifesto calls for the forcible overthrow of everything, as seen in his poetry and personal beliefs.

Religion is not the opiate of the masses (1h12m0s)

• Karl Marx's quote about religion being an opiate of the masses is often misunderstood as a condemnation of religion, but it is actually a critique of how religion can be used to control people.
• Marx argued that religion provides false hope and comfort, preventing people from recognizing and fighting against their oppressors, but his critique ignores the genuine fear of hell and the price of salvation in Christianity.
• Radical leftism can also be used as an opiate due to its oversimplification and self-serving nature.
• Marx believed that solving economic and class problems was the key to achieving a utopian society, and Marxists believe that solving economic problems will solve all other problems, which is a materialistic and simplistic view of human nature.
• The Communist Manifesto advocates for the abolition of private property as the key to achieving communism and a utopian society, revealing the Communists' materialistic and anthropologically flawed understanding of human nature.

Dostoevsky, the fundamental flaw with communism (1h19m12s)

• Dostoevsky, particularly in "Notes from Underground," speaks of devils and demons, identifying the fundamental flaw in the Communist Doctrine before Marx popularized it.
• Dostoevsky suggests that even if humans were provided with a materialist Utopia, they would destroy it out of boredom, as humans need more than just material satisfaction.
• Marxists and infantile hedonists presume that the mere satisfaction of desires would bring about a Utopia, which Dostoevsky argues is insufficient.
• Dr. Paul Kengor discusses the connection between the Devil and Karl Marx.
• Kengor argues that Marx's ideas, particularly his promotion of class struggle and atheism, align with the Devil's goals of division and destruction.
• Marx's philosophy rejects the concept of God and promotes a materialistic view of the world, which Kengor sees as a form of demonic materialism.
• Marx's atheism is a central aspect of his philosophy.
• Marx argues that religion is a tool used by the ruling class to oppress the working class.
• Kengor criticizes Marx's rejection of God, arguing that it leads to a loss of moral values and a nihilistic worldview.

Modern Marxism: far from economics (1h21m11s)

• Modern Marxists have shifted their focus from class and economics to culture, gender, and race.
• The website of People's World, the successor to the Daily Worker, calls for "culture workers" instead of factory workers or coal miners.
• Marxists have taken the Marxist superstructure of oppressed versus oppressor and applied it to issues like race.
• Critical race theorists boil people down into two categories: black and white, ignoring individual DNA ancestry and diversity.
• CRT hammers people into one of two categories: oppressed or oppressor, with blacks seen as the oppressed group and whites as the oppressors.
• This classification is racist as it assumes all blacks are oppressed and all whites are oppressors, ignoring individual circumstances and socioeconomic status.
• Marx and Engels used class to divide people, while modern Marxists use race.

Cain and Abel: the first victim/victimizer narrative (1h24m59s)

• Marxism presents a victim-victimizer narrative, similar to the story of Cain and Abel, where Cain is the protagonist.
• Modern postmodern leftism expands this narrative into multiple dimensions, providing a causal explanation for everything and a moral imperative to identify with the victim.
• Universities teach students to view the world in terms of power and to hate the oppressor group, promoting this metastasized Marxism.
• Intersectionality, emphasizing overlapping identities like race, gender, and sexuality, can be used to rationalize power dynamics and claim moral virtue without addressing underlying issues.
• Lenin's vanguard theory proposes that educated elites should lead the revolution and guide society through various stages of development, including feudalism, capitalism, socialism, and communism.
• Despite claims of equality, communist governments have not effectively addressed economic inequality, often suppressing the benefits of capital without creating a more equitable wealth distribution.
• Communist leaders frequently accumulate personal wealth while the masses they represent remain impoverished.

How deep has the communist infiltration gone? (1h32m21s)

• The author believes that a religious interpretation is necessary to fully understand the success of Communism despite its impracticality.
• The author's personal experience with Communism led him to explore religious matters and abandon atheism.
• The Catholic Church described Communism as a satanic scourge orchestrated by the sons of Darkness.
• Liberation theologians are criticized for supporting Marxist ideology, which is seen as contaminating.
• The Frankfurt School, founded by Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno, applied Marxism to culture, coining terms like "culture industry" and "dialectic of Enlightenment."
• The term "cultural Marxism" has been associated with anti-semitic conspiracy theories.
• Many people may unknowingly engage in Marxist frameworks or meta-narratives on gender, race, and culture due to their deep societal ingrainedness.
• The discussion took place at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., which highlights the relationship between the Bible, literacy, and their global impact.
• Dr. Kengor planned to continue the discussion on the Daily Wire, focusing on the development of interests underlying his work, particularly regarding the catastrophe of Marxism and communism.