History in Practice
History and Its Discontents
I am becoming a professional historian. My duties will be to interpret the past for its use in the present, and to preserve and investigate the past so that it remains usable. On the other hand, the field of professional history is a frustrating one. Currently, I am attending a graduate program for Historic Preservation. My organizing has sadly been very sporadic. I have offered help as I can myself, but no revolutionary organizations exist in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. The town and its surroundings are largely backwards, rather than progressive or neutral.
The idea of Marxism, and specifically Maoism, is that we are constantly looking forward to the future, while interpreting what happened in the past in our present. So we must constantly review the history of struggle in the communities we engage with. In Cape Girardeau itself, this is very difficult; although there are like-minded individuals, they are typically liberal and only anti-capitalist, not socialist or revolutionary.
History is one of the preconditions for forming a Marxist organization. Understanding the organizing history and historic problems of the people in the community are ways of addressing how these problems developed into the present. Under capitalism, contradictions are rarely ever resolved, but transformed into another form of contradiction. Enslavement was replaced by colonialism of different types, in some ways the same, but different in execution. Patriarchy has changed, rather than being a static entity; these are local processes that mirror overarching social systems.
History has been abused by liberal and conservative professors to support the current order of things. Even though historians now pay more attention to New Africans, trans people, women, and the laboring classes, the power to determine the form of that history remains in the power of primarily white, upper-middle class, rather than with the people. Marxist theory dictates that we take our cues from the people, as they and they alone are the motive force in the making of world history.
History as Practice
History is not a set of dead events, reanimated every now and then to explain why something happens. It is always with us, and we are the people who ensure its collective memory continues past us. History is in our consciousness in everyday life. We understand history in many ways, whether we do so consciously or not. In history, the average professional assumes the masses are uneducated and ignorant. Historians also assume that the masses don’t interact with complex historical issues, as though the masses see the present as independent of the past.
This is arrogant. Maoist principles note that we ourselves are often childish and ignorant, while the masses have a boundless creative energy. People learn from the past both consciously and unconsciously. Historians are essential conduits between people and the past of which they are unaware, so historians can influence the way people think of themselves and their society. Marxists are always historians, and if any Marxist is ignorant of the history of the problem they are attempting to solve, they will fail. They will fail to interpret the needs of the people.
Because all social investigation and class analysis involves past events, and because the machines of an oppressive society require long-standing effort to create and maintain, all historical investigation of these is practice. The goal is to know your enemy better than they know themselves. When you know your enemy better than they do, you can begin to bring out their weaknesses and exploit contradictions among them.
Practice as History
Practice makes up the bones in the body of history. Social practice is the raw material from which formal understandings of history are taken. Practice is an exercise in the study of history, just as history is an exercise in the study of practice.
Practice doesn’t exist outside history, but is actively involved in its creation, and history is actively involved in the creation of practice. History is not a dry, long-winded speech concerning what has happened in the past; it is everywhere, no matter where we are. Practice is the same. It isn’t an act done in the news or on a stage, but a constant effort worked into our everyday lives. History and practice are both part of every person’s everyday existence.
Regardless of whether we are conscious of this fact, it remains. We look to the past in every moment of our lives. The past is the future; out of all the possible things that could come from the past, the future is the one possible course of events that unfolds. Practical history only explains the potential events that may come to pass, and as Marxists, we must understand these possibilities so that we can help the masses direct themselves along a path that suits their revolutionary goals. Warped strategy comes from a warped understanding of history. Marxists must avail themselves of how the masses conceive of history, rather than examine history on their own.
History in Politics
Marxists must make history a constant topic of investigation. They should discuss it in meetings among their organizations and with the masses themselves during everyday and organizing life. Political directives should reference historical events and lessons, as Marxists can get rid of the bad and improve upon the good through self-criticism of their historic actions. All political action should be made using historical data.
Political education cannot remain ignorant of history without fundamentally misunderstanding the way history shapes the consciousness of those who live through it. All people’s personal histories shape their opinions and perspectives, and all personal histories happen in the material world. History is a way of explaining real conditions. It may be misunderstood or otherwise distorted by a person’s material experiences, but it is definitely influenced by these historical material factors.
Politics are in command of history. Yet history is also in command of politics. Organizers should know when a particular history relates to or does not relate to the masses, when to emphasize what parts, and what parts of history should be used in making what decisions. Organizers can learn all this only through practice, from which history is inseparable. Politics are also inseparable from practice, and thus inseparable from history as well. To truly understand the past is to understand how to use the weapon of Marxist politics and practice.
