---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As the Marxist movement splintered and…"
description: "\"“As the Marxist movement splintered and mutated into new forms, Left intellectuals and activists began to look for new ways to attack capitalism. Envir..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c49/stephen-r-c-hicks-12692_marxist_as-the-marxist-movement-splintered-and-m_2938205.jpg"
---

#  As the Marxist movement splintered and mutated into new…

![“As the Marxist movement splintered and mutated into new forms, Left intellectuals and activists began to look for new ways to attack capitalism. Environ-mental issues, alongside women’s and minorities’ issues, came to be seen as a new weapon in the arsenal against capitalism” quote by Stephen R.C. Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c49/stephen-r-c-hicks-12692_marxist_as-the-marxist-movement-splintered-and-m_2938205.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c49/stephen-r-c-hicks-12692_marxist_as-the-marxist-movement-splintered-and-m_2938205.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c49/stephen-r-c-hicks-12692_marxist_as-the-marxist-movement-splintered-and-m_2938205.jpg)

> ““As the Marxist movement splintered and mutated into new forms, Left intellectuals and activists began to look for new ways to attack capitalism. Environ-mental issues, alongside women’s and minorities’ issues, came to be seen as a new weapon in the arsenal against capitalism””

[Stephen R.C. Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-c-hicks/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

As Marxist ideas fragmented, leftists turned to environmental, gender, and minority issues as new tools against capitalism.

**In simple terms:** Leftists use social issues to challenge capitalism.

Key Takeaway

Recognize the strategic use of social causes.

Themes

politics activism intersectionality

Mood

critical analytical

Type

theoretical historical

When to use this quote

- protest planning
- policy advocacy
- academic debate

Key Concepts

capitalism critique social movements strategic framing

Questions to Reflect On

- Why do social issues become political weapons?
- How can movements stay true to their core?

A Different Perspective

Risk of co-opting causes for political ends.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Intellectuals Activists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectuals-activists-4367695/) [Left Intellectuals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left-intellectuals-2994956/) [Marxist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marxist/) [Marxist Movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marxist-movement-2916150/) [Movement Splintered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movement-splintered-4367696/)

## Related quotes

> [Women's liberation, if not the most extreme then certainly the most influential neo-Marxist movement in America, has done to the American home what communism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-wisse/women-s-liberation-if-not-the-most-extreme-then-certainly-the-most/)

[Ruth Wisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-wisse/)

> [“As to the 'Left' I'll say briefly why this was the finish for me. Here is American society, attacked under open skies in broad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/as-to-the-left-i-ll-say-briefly-why-this-was-the-finish-for-me-here/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [Those who wish to change the world should have the best possible understanding of the world, including what is revealed by the sciences, some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/those-who-wish-to-change-the-world-should-have-the-best-possible/)

[Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/)

> [An American professor complained that a crypto-Marxist like me was invited in the USA, and I was denounced by the press in Eastern European…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/an-american-professor-complained-that-a-crypto-marxist-like-me-was/)

[Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/)

> [“In other words, low growth cannot adequately counterbalance the Marxist principle of infinite accumulation: the resulting equilibrium is not as apocalyptic as the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/in-other-words-low-growth-cannot-adequately-counterbalance-the/)

[Thomas Piketty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-piketty/)

> [I prayed for the first time in a very long time today. I explained to God that unless he wanted the Marxist-Islamic alliance and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anders-behring-breivik/i-prayed-for-the-first-time-in-a-very-long-time-today-i-explained-to/)

[Anders Behring Breivik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anders-behring-breivik/)

> [It is necessary to master Marxist theory and apply it, master it for the sole purpose of applying it. If you can apply the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/it-is-necessary-to-master-marxist-theory-and-apply-it-master-it-for/)

[Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/)

> [Marxism is the opium of the Marxists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/marxism-is-the-opium-of-the-marxists/)

[Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/)

> [“Films and music videos, like other media works, are machines for generating affect, and for capitalizing upon, or extracting value from, this affect. As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-shaviro/films-and-music-videos-like-other-media-works-are-machines-for/)

[Steven Shaviro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-shaviro/)

> [ In the struggle to defend the legacy of Leninism . . . \[Stalin\] proved himself to be an outstanding Marxist-Leninist fighter. . . .… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/in-the-struggle-to-defend-the-legacy-of-leninism-stalin-proved/)

[Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/)

> [Liberalism makes this mistake in regard to private property and Marxism makes it in regard to socialized property... The Marxist illusion is partly derived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/liberalism-makes-this-mistake-in-regard-to-private-property-and/)

[Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/)

> [We must recognize the fact that many Nazis, Marxists and Fascists believe passionately in their fundamental rightness, and allow nothing to hinder them from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/we-must-recognize-the-fact-that-many-nazis-marxists-and-fascists/)

[Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/)

> [The dictatorship of the proletariat and the leadership of the Marxist-Leninist party are indispensable conditions for the triumph of the Socialist revolution and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-khrushchev/the-dictatorship-of-the-proletariat-and-the-leadership-of-the-marxist/)

[Nikita Khrushchev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-khrushchev/)

> [Perhaps it is this theory of all work and no play that has made the Marxist such a very dull boy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/perhaps-it-is-this-theory-of-all-work-and-no-play-that-has-made-the/)

[Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/)

> [“I should say that it was only for me that Marxism seemed over. Surely, I would tell G. at least once a week, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/i-should-say-that-it-was-only-for-me-that-marxism-seemed-over-surely/)

[Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/)

## More by Stephen R.C. Hicks

> [“Nasty political correctness as a tactic then makes perfect sense. Having rejected reason, we will not expect ourselves or others to behave reasonably. Having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-c-hicks/nasty-political-correctness-as-a-tactic-then-makes-perfect-sense/)

[Stephen R.C. Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-c-hicks/)

> [“Marxism was and is a class analysis, pitting economic classes against each other in a zero-sum competition. In that competition, the stronger parties would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-c-hicks/marxism-was-and-is-a-class-analysis-pitting-economic-classes-against/)

[Stephen R.C. Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-c-hicks/)

> [“Deconstruction as an educational strategy   Here is an example. Kate Ellis is a radical gender feminist. Ellis, as she writes in Socialist Review,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-c-hicks/deconstruction-as-an-educational-strategy-here-is-an-example-kate/)

[Stephen R.C. Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-c-hicks/)

> [“Yet mere membership as a matter of duty is not enough for Hegel, given the grandeur of the state’s divine historical purpose: “One must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-c-hicks/yet-mere-membership-as-a-matter-of-duty-is-not-enough-for-hegel-given/)

[Stephen R.C. Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-c-hicks/)

> [“In a “secret speech” to the twentieth Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev made a sensational revelation of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-c-hicks/in-a-secret-speech-to-the-twentieth-congress-of-the-communist-party/)

[Stephen R.C. Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-c-hicks/)

> [“That is my second hypothesis: Postmodernism is a response to the crisis of faith of the academic far Left. Its epistemology justifies the leap…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-c-hicks/that-is-my-second-hypothesis-postmodernism-is-a-response-to-the/)

[Stephen R.C. Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-c-hicks/)

> [ “Given the pervasiveness of capitalism’s domination, the revolutionary vanguard can come only from those outcast intellectuals—especially among the younger students\[282\]—those who are able to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-c-hicks/given-the-pervasiveness-of-capitalism-s-domination-the-revolutionary/)

[Stephen R.C. Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-c-hicks/)

> [“A variation on this strategy was implicit in a new definition of “poverty” that the Left began to offer in the early 1960s: the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-c-hicks/a-variation-on-this-strategy-was-implicit-in-a-new-definition-of/)

[Stephen R.C. Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-c-hicks/)

> [“Postmodernism is the first ruthlessly consistent statement of the consequences of rejecting reason, those consequences being necessary given the history of epistemology since Kant.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-c-hicks/postmodernism-is-the-first-ruthlessly-consistent-statement-of-the/)

[Stephen R.C. Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-c-hicks/)

> [“From the postmodern anti-realist metaphysics and anti-reason epistemology, the postmodern social consequences follow almost directly. Once we set aside reality and reason, what are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-c-hicks/from-the-postmodern-anti-realist-metaphysics-and-anti-reason/)

[Stephen R.C. Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-c-hicks/)

> [“The empirical evidence has been much harder on socialism. Economically, in practice the capitalist nations are increasingly productive and prosperous, with no end in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-c-hicks/the-empirical-evidence-has-been-much-harder-on-socialism-economically/)

[Stephen R.C. Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-c-hicks/)

> [“Yet it is also true, Hegel granted, that in many cases the individual’s freedoms and interests will genuinely be set aside, overridden, and even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-c-hicks/yet-it-is-also-true-hegel-granted-that-in-many-cases-the-individual-s/)

[Stephen R.C. Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-c-hicks/)

> [“Morally and politically, in practice every liberal capitalist country has a solid record for being humane, for by and large respecting rights and freedoms,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-c-hicks/morally-and-politically-in-practice-every-liberal-capitalist-country/)

[Stephen R.C. Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-c-hicks/)

> [“In our time, the world created by the Enlightenment is strong, active, and exuberant. For a while in the past century, socialists could believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-c-hicks/in-our-time-the-world-created-by-the-enlightenment-is-strong-active/)

[Stephen R.C. Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-c-hicks/)

> [“Kunst ist Scheisse (Art is shit) was, fittingly, the motto of the Dada movement. Duchamp’s urinal was the fitting symbol. Everything is waste to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-c-hicks/kunst-ist-scheisse-art-is-shit-was-fittingly-the-motto-of-the-dada/)

[Stephen R.C. Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-c-hicks/)

[Explore all 53 Stephen R.C. Hicks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-c-hicks/)

## More Marxist quotes

> [“I should say that it was only for me that Marxism seemed over. Surely, I would tell G. at least once a week, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/i-should-say-that-it-was-only-for-me-that-marxism-seemed-over-surely/)

[Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/)

> [Perhaps it is this theory of all work and no play that has made the Marxist such a very dull boy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/perhaps-it-is-this-theory-of-all-work-and-no-play-that-has-made-the/)

[Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/)

> [The dictatorship of the proletariat and the leadership of the Marxist-Leninist party are indispensable conditions for the triumph of the Socialist revolution and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-khrushchev/the-dictatorship-of-the-proletariat-and-the-leadership-of-the-marxist/)

[Nikita Khrushchev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-khrushchev/)

> [We must recognize the fact that many Nazis, Marxists and Fascists believe passionately in their fundamental rightness, and allow nothing to hinder them from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/we-must-recognize-the-fact-that-many-nazis-marxists-and-fascists/)

[Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/)

> [Liberalism makes this mistake in regard to private property and Marxism makes it in regard to socialized property... The Marxist illusion is partly derived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/liberalism-makes-this-mistake-in-regard-to-private-property-and/)

[Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/)

> [ In the struggle to defend the legacy of Leninism . . . \[Stalin\] proved himself to be an outstanding Marxist-Leninist fighter. . . .… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/in-the-struggle-to-defend-the-legacy-of-leninism-stalin-proved/)

[Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/)

> [“Films and music videos, like other media works, are machines for generating affect, and for capitalizing upon, or extracting value from, this affect. As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-shaviro/films-and-music-videos-like-other-media-works-are-machines-for/)

[Steven Shaviro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-shaviro/)

> [Marxism is the opium of the Marxists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/marxism-is-the-opium-of-the-marxists/)

[Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/)

> [It is necessary to master Marxist theory and apply it, master it for the sole purpose of applying it. If you can apply the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/it-is-necessary-to-master-marxist-theory-and-apply-it-master-it-for/)

[Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/)

> [I prayed for the first time in a very long time today. I explained to God that unless he wanted the Marxist-Islamic alliance and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anders-behring-breivik/i-prayed-for-the-first-time-in-a-very-long-time-today-i-explained-to/)

[Anders Behring Breivik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anders-behring-breivik/)

> [“In other words, low growth cannot adequately counterbalance the Marxist principle of infinite accumulation: the resulting equilibrium is not as apocalyptic as the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/in-other-words-low-growth-cannot-adequately-counterbalance-the/)

[Thomas Piketty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-piketty/)

> [An American professor complained that a crypto-Marxist like me was invited in the USA, and I was denounced by the press in Eastern European…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/an-american-professor-complained-that-a-crypto-marxist-like-me-was/)

[Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/)

> [Lenin, Stalin, and Rakosi recognized that a renewed and purified Christianity was the only force that could move the masses as powerfully as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-colson/lenin-stalin-and-rakosi-recognized-that-a-renewed-and-purified/)

[Charles Colson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-colson/)

> [“...the working classes—that motor of social transformation which Marx increasingly stipulated for the role of the proletariat; the dispossessed and alienated revolutionary vehicle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-p-nettl/the-working-classes-that-motor-of-social-transformation-which-marx/)

[J. P. Nettl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-p-nettl/)

> [Besides, there is more that binds us to Bolshevism than separates us from it. There is, above all, genuine, revolutionary feeling, which is alive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/besides-there-is-more-that-binds-us-to-bolshevism-than-separates-us/)

[Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/)

[Browse all 287 Marxist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marxist/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“As the Marxist movement splintered and mutated into new forms, Left intellectuals and activists began to look for new ways to attack capitalism. Environ-mental issues, alongside women’s and minorities’ issues, came to be seen as a new weapon in the arsenal against capitalism”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Stephen R.C. Hicks"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-c-hicks/as-the-marxist-movement-splintered-and-mutated-into-new-forms-left/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Marxist"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-c-hicks/as-the-marxist-movement-splintered-and-mutated-into-new-forms-left/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c49/stephen-r-c-hicks-12692_marxist_as-the-marxist-movement-splintered-and-m_2938205.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c49/stephen-r-c-hicks-12692_marxist_as-the-marxist-movement-splintered-and-m_2938205.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c49/stephen-r-c-hicks-12692_marxist_as-the-marxist-movement-splintered-and-m_2938205.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“As the Marxist movement splintered and mutated into new forms, Left intellectuals and activists began to…” — Stephen R.C. Hicks",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Stephen R.C. Hicks",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-c-hicks/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“As the Marxist movement splintered and...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-c-hicks/as-the-marxist-movement-splintered-and-mutated-into-new-forms-left/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-c-hicks/as-the-marxist-movement-splintered-and-mutated-into-new-forms-left/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
