Marxist Discussion Thread - The Red Guard

[Jinwoy]

I'll start this discussion by giving an answer to that one question that has been burning on the barely conscious sleep-deprived brains of this particular forums custodians mere seconds before they finished the subject by stating:
What is Marxism? Guys. You should really know this by now. Marxism is that thing everyone accuses Obama of liking the unified theories that Marx and his bed buddy, Engels, formulated together while catching the second-hand sweats from a really rather stuffy English factory.

It begins with the Marxist Theory of Labour Value which, put basically, implies that despite all the value in the things you created, excess value is taken by the capitalist (your boss) and the rest is given to you, and that your boss will continue to take a larger and larger share of what you, the worker (HAH!) create until the day you overthrow him and establish a Socialist utopia and that eventually the 'forces of production' will allow people to have minimal work days and everyone will be equal because all value created is shared amongst the community.
Please, for the love of mercy, if you don't know these things, look them up yourself. I cannot be held responsible for how much Marxist theory I have butchered in my decades of living. Regardless, I'm not sorry for any misinformation present.

This discussion is about all things Marxist, its successes and successors, its failures and failure people, and everything in between.
Come on out, Luxemborgists, Third-Worldists, and Hoxhaists (that's right, all 12 of you).
Trotskyists need not apply.

Here are some questions to get your brains rolling:
How much of Marx's original theories are useful today?
The elephant in the room: How did the USSR give to/takeaway from the international Communist revolution? Was it truly 'Marxist' in a sense?
Are self-identified Marxists actually conservative/play to their collective heritage a little too much?

[Jochizyd Republic]

You already have a thread.
viewtopic.php?f=20&t=363314

[Jinwoy]

You already have a thread.
viewtopic.php?f=20&t=363314

I made a really long and elaborate post explaining why that's wrong, but it failed to post.
To summarise, not all Leftists are Marxists and not all Marxists are Leftists.

[Jochizyd Republic]

not all Marxists are Leftists.

[Yumyumsuppertime]

You already have a thread.
viewtopic.php?f=20&t=363314

I made a really long and elaborate post explaining why that's wrong, but it failed to post.
To summarise, not all Leftists are Marxists and not all Marxists are Leftists.

And yet at the same time, both groups somehow manage to find their way to the Left Wing Discussion Thread without confusion or uncertainty.

With full respect and appreciation for the effort that you put into that excellent OP, I'm going to lock this, and advise you to continue the conversation in the thread linked above.