Marxist Theory

Marxist Theory

Marxist theory makes me think of books that focus on underprivileged people in our society and the conflict that comes out, such as T.C. Boyles work on migrant laborers and their interface with upper middle class families in the hills of LA. Steinbeck shows some of this same interface between the impoverished Okies and the camps that they lived in, among the fertile riches of California landowners. These examples of literature, lay bare the realities of our times and place, while revealing inner character, building tensions and a climax, as the underlying conflicts between characters and classes boil over. The climax strips any illusions away about our inner strengths and weaknesses.

If more recent Marxist theories allow for the “art” of literature to move away from the center of economics, or a central focus or essence, what kind of literature is being endorsed? Can magical realism, fantasy and leaps of imagination through time and space be endorsed? If the subtle and more flexible perspective and revealing of the unconscious, in finding historical truth is not incompatible with Marxism, would Butler’s Kindred find a place in Marxist theory? Class and power differences are certainly a focus, along with interior psyche issues of dealing with these inequities from a moral high ground, as the main character and her husband confront choices that impact their survival, amid time travel in different places, as well as time realities. What kind of literature do you think of that meets these expanded visions of Marxism?