The reference to "Moses and the Prophets" is most definitely not intended to be anti-Semitic. Technically, it is a reference to a society's most fundamental law. So, the fundamental "law" of capitalism is accumulation. It is not an identification of money-making with Judaism. "Moses and the Prophets" is equally a Christian and a Jewish reference. Lest we forget Marx was a student of Hegel, who was a solid Methodist. Marx knew the bible well. Both the socialist ethic, "From each according to his ability, to each according to his worth," and the communist ethic, "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need," are lifted wholesale from the book of Acts. Further, Leviticus - the most important book of the Pentateuch, i.e., the Law of Moses or the first five books of the Old Testament, as well as Acts place a very heavy focus on redistributing wealth. The early Christians were communists of the highest order - they socialized personal property as well as productive property. So, to the extent that the Jewishness of the comment is relevant at all, it is a great complement to the Jewish tradition of egalitarian. A tradition that was passed on in toto to the early Christians (who did not consider themselves a separate group from Jews, or more accurately, Israelites). I would like to argue that Marx was strongly and positively influenced by both the Old and New Testaments. He was, of course, an atheist. Nevertheless, the bible's emphasis on social justice and egalitarian economics was clearly a source of inspiration for Marx. It is not surprising then to find my Christians attracted to Marx's analysis of capitalism. For example, see the theological work of Gustavo Gutierrez (Catholic) and James Cone (Methodist). peace, patrick l mason At 02:50 PM 1/30/02 -0500, you wrote: >On Wed, 30 Jan 2002, gerald_a_levy wrote [6465]: > > > 3) Never one to shy away from controversy, let me > > note that the above reference -- given the prevailing > > anti-Semitism in Europe in Marx's time and given a > > history by Marx of making anti-Semitic comments in > > his personal correspondence (of course this is known > > to us but was not known to the contemporary readers > > of _Capital_) -- is suggestive of a popular prejudice > > in Europe at the time: the identification of Jews with > > money-making, saving, and lending. > >What does the cited reference to "Moses and the Prophets" by Marx have to >do with "prevailing anti-Semitism in Europe in Marx's time" and Marx's >own prejudices? Is referring to "Moses and the Prophets" supposed to be >anti-Semitic? > >Paul
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