Marx vs. The Grinch that Stole Christmas
Marx vs. Religion and the Holiday Spirit
It is no surprise that the revolutionary socialist, Karl Marx was against the commercial and religious holiday of Christmas, but how does his Christmas loathing fair when measured up against a fellow hater: The Grinch.
Who Will Out-Scrooge The Other?
The Judging will be based on three categories
1. Thoughts about Christmas in general
2. Their take on the "The gift of giving"
3. Family Relationship
First to bat, the Grinch.
The Grinch
Many people know of Dr. Seuss' expertly crafted story of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, but how will he match-up with Marx?
He is unable to handle the joy and unity that Christmas brings. The psychologist in me hypothesizes that the Grinch had a dramatic childhood experience that scarred him for life and prevented proper development.
Without making anymore guesses, this video simply states that "No one quite knows the reason" the Grinch hates Christmas, he just passionately despises it. The video also demonstrates the Grinch's reaction to holiday cheer.
Christmas-
Through deep analysis, the Grinch's hatred of Christmas derives from his heart being "two sizes too small."
He is unable to handle the joy and unity that Christmas brings. The psychologist in me hypothesizes that the Grinch had a dramatic childhood experience that scarred him for life and prevented proper development.
Without making anymore guesses, this video simply states that "No one quite knows the reason" the Grinch hates Christmas, he just passionately despises it. The video also demonstrates the Grinch's reaction to holiday cheer.
The Gift of Giving-
Again, the Grinch cannot comprehend. The gift of making someone you love happy or the family aspect of Christmas, is totally foreign to the Grinch. His view, like many children, is that Christmas is all about receiving gifts (thus, pointing to my hypothesis of improper childhood development)
By failing to see that presents do not make Christmas in his scheme to steal Christmas, it is evident that the Grinch cannot understand the gift of giving. Below is a video that shows the Grinch's surprise when Christmas continues without presents.
By failing to see that presents do not make Christmas in his scheme to steal Christmas, it is evident that the Grinch cannot understand the gift of giving. Below is a video that shows the Grinch's surprise when Christmas continues without presents.
Family-
As stated above, a key component of the holiday season is family. How one treats their family is a big indicator of their Christmas spirit. From How the Grinch stole Christmas, there is no evidence of a biological Grinch family. There is however, the Grinch's companion and pet, Max the dog.
The Grinch's relationship with Max is comparable to how a master treats a slave. The Grinch commits many acts that could be labeled as animal cruelty. Some minor acts include tying a large antler to Max's head and repeatedly whipping him.
The big indicator of animal cruelty however is the reason why the Grinch was whipping Max. It is because the Grinch is forcing Max to carry a large sleigh up and down a MOUNTAIN. This treatment is horrible and reveals a lot about the Grinch's character.
The Grinch's relationship with Max is comparable to how a master treats a slave. The Grinch commits many acts that could be labeled as animal cruelty. Some minor acts include tying a large antler to Max's head and repeatedly whipping him.
The big indicator of animal cruelty however is the reason why the Grinch was whipping Max. It is because the Grinch is forcing Max to carry a large sleigh up and down a MOUNTAIN. This treatment is horrible and reveals a lot about the Grinch's character.
Now Marx,
Karl Marx
Christmas-
For Karl Marx, I can go into a much deeper analysis of his viewpoints on Christmas. The story of the Grinch didn't include the key factors of religion or money most likely because the Grinch was created for children.
Religion- Religion is an "Opiate of the people" (Marx).
This is a popular recited quote from Marx. Through Marx's eyes, everything is created and manipulated by the universal force of economics. Religion is no exception. Religion, according to Marx, is created because of the struggles of the Haves(Bourgeois) vs. the Have-nots(Proletariat). To Marx, religion is a creation of Bourgeois to form structure and morals in the proletariat. These morals/structures are emplaced to discourage the proletariat from starting uprisings and changing the norms.
Christmas- Religion and Christmas both teach love and non-violence while delivering to the masses a certain cheer or reason to be merry. Therefore to Marx, holiday cheer, Santa Claus and Christmas are all tools of the rich in-order to distract/subdue/oppress the proletariat and thus, allow them, the rich (bourgeois), to keep their status/power.
- This video has a good overview of Marx and his Historical Materialism. Towards the end it discusses the "opiate" quote and religion.
"Opium" pic from (DrugAbuse.com 2012)
Here is the definition of opiate from Dictionary.com (just in case you were wondering)
o·pi·ate
[oh-pee-it, -eyt; oh-pee-eyt] noun, adjective, verb, o·pi·at·ed, o·pi·at·ing.
noun
1.
a drug containing opium or its derivatives, used in medicine for inducing sleep and relieving pain.
2.
any sedative, soporific, or narcotic.
3.
Marx, not only doesn't believe in the gift of giving, but he believes that it actually hurts the person that is giving. Buying gifts for others, in Marx's view, just hurts one's economic standings. Marx's view of giving is very Scrooge(y).
In London, when Marx's "funds were gone," he could not "bring himself to seek paid employment," even though he had a family to support(Brit). Without funds, on "March 1850 he and his wife and four small children were evicted and their belongings seized"(Brit).
Though money troubles do happen to people, this was not the case for Marx. It wasn't like Marx was actively trying to find a job, it was more like the only thing that mattered to Marx was his philosophies. He was a deadbeat, lazy parent and horrible person by choice.
Because of neglect, "several of his children died—including a son Guido, and a daughter Franziska, for whom his wife rushed about frantically trying to borrow money for a coffin"(Brit). One would think that Marx might give up or put a hold on his theories after his children were dying, but no....
"For six years the family lived in two small rooms in Soho, often subsisting on bread and potatoes. The children learned to lie to the creditors: “Mr. Marx ain’t upstairs.” Once he(Marx) had to escape them(Creditors) by fleeing to Manchester. In addition, his wife suffered many breakdowns. (Brit)"
It has been speculated that Marx was insane/possessed, but this does not take away the fact that he treated his family very poorly.
anything that causes dullness or inaction or that soothes the feelings.
The Gift of Giving-
Another quote from Marx demonstrates how he believed economics/materials were the only thing that mattered.
"The less you eat, drink and buy books; the less you go to the theatre, the dance hall, the public house; the less you think, love, theorize, sing, paint, fence, etc., the more you save – the greater becomes your treasure which neither moths nor rust will devour – your capital" (Zoltan).
Marx, not only doesn't believe in the gift of giving, but he believes that it actually hurts the person that is giving. Buying gifts for others, in Marx's view, just hurts one's economic standings. Marx's view of giving is very Scrooge(y).
Family-
Marx definitely was not a family man. His early years in London demonstrate that he was a horrible father and husband.In London, when Marx's "funds were gone," he could not "bring himself to seek paid employment," even though he had a family to support(Brit). Without funds, on "March 1850 he and his wife and four small children were evicted and their belongings seized"(Brit).
Though money troubles do happen to people, this was not the case for Marx. It wasn't like Marx was actively trying to find a job, it was more like the only thing that mattered to Marx was his philosophies. He was a deadbeat, lazy parent and horrible person by choice.
Because of neglect, "several of his children died—including a son Guido, and a daughter Franziska, for whom his wife rushed about frantically trying to borrow money for a coffin"(Brit). One would think that Marx might give up or put a hold on his theories after his children were dying, but no....
"For six years the family lived in two small rooms in Soho, often subsisting on bread and potatoes. The children learned to lie to the creditors: “Mr. Marx ain’t upstairs.” Once he(Marx) had to escape them(Creditors) by fleeing to Manchester. In addition, his wife suffered many breakdowns. (Brit)"
It has been speculated that Marx was insane/possessed, but this does not take away the fact that he treated his family very poorly.
The Winner
Christmas Winner -Grinch
The Grinch wins because he absolutely hated everything about Christmas, while Marx just had a cold, receded approach towards it.
Gift of Giving Winner- Marx
Marx wins because the Grinch didn't seem to understand the idea of giving, while Marx's "calculated" belief of giving was almost in-human and Scrooge-like.
Family Winner- Marx
Marx wins... Marx just wasn't there for his family. The Grinch, while being awful to Max, never stood by and watched his family suffer/die.
Drum-roll.....
The Overall Winner of Losing at Christmas IS...
Karl Marx
References
(Brit)"Karl Marx". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 02 Dec. 2012
Dr.Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Dir. Chuck Jones, Ben Washam. Perf. Boris Karloff. 1966. CBS. The Cat And the Hat Productions. 1990
(Marx) Marx, Karl. 1844. A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right, Deutsch-
Französische Jahrbücher, February.
(Zoltan) Zigedy, Zoltan. "A Christmas Carol." Marxism Leninism Today. N.p., n.d.
Web. 2 Dec. 2012.
Great post! While I agree with virtually everything that you have said, I would put Marx as the winner of all three categories. While the Grinch simply had a misunderstanding towards Christmas, Marx would be coming from a much more educated, reasoned standpoint. You do a good job analyzing the components of Christmas that Marx would hate, but Christmas these days has evolved into something that no longer even remotely revolves around the religious holiday where it found its roots. Christmas these days is a consumerist holiday that provides people with an excuse to consume and splurge to their hearts content. Don't get me wrong, I love everything about Christmas, but from a Marxist standpoint, Christmas simply perpetuates a consumerist lifestyle. This lifestyle subdues class conflict and allows the Bourgeoisie to retain power over the Proletariat by blinding them with the promise of items to consume. I'm sure Marx would feel less strongly about Christmas if it still perpetuated the religious ideals that are at its core, but I believe that the modern Christmas would bring nothing but scorn from Marx. You cover all of this really well, I would simply say that Marx is the winner of all three Christmas categories when it comes down to it.
ReplyDeleteReally well thought out post! I agree with everything you've said, including the Grinch as the Christmas winner. The differences here between Marx and the Grinch is that the Grinch spent his entire life hating Christmas, while Marx was only partially concerned with the abolishment of gift giving and the celebration of religious holidays. While Christmas does perpetuate a consumerist lifestyle from a Marxist perspective, Marx's views of giving and religion were meant to be applied to situations other than Christmas and the holiday season. I especially agree with Marx being dubbed the "Gift of Giving Winner." It's one thing to only want to receive gifts, but to reject the idea of giving them? In this day and age, Marx would sooner get a call from Child Protective Services than a publisher. It's probably best that Marx can't see what the holiday season is like today. If he didn't die of shock, the thousands of feet trampling over him to be the first one in Walmart would do the trick.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the personal information on Marx- he really was a leftist hippie deadbeat! I also enjoyed re-watching clips from one of my all time favorite Christmas movies. I think that Christmas is one of the reasons people went through such an anti- commie phase in 50s America. When people looked at communist countries they saw nations that rejected a lot of their ethnic and religious culture. Holidays that come from these traditions are the highlights of some people's lives. I still get excited to crawl on my couch with some hot cocoa to watch the Grinch. I would hate to be a part of a culture with holidays in the name of guys like Mao and Stalin. The different holidays, and the history that is involved with each of them, are what makes them so powerful. Without these special days, the year would be bland. I think this is the problem with communism in general, it seems like if it succeeded, life would be boring. Maybe if Marx had seen Whoville unite hands after the Grinch stole their presents, he would have allowed the non-religious/commercial traditions of Christmas to continue- I'm sure his kids expected coal in their stockings anyway.
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