Talk of truly epic economic upheaval invariably brings to mind who is to blame or who isn’t helping the situation very much. Love him or hate him, Marx had a lot to say about this subject and even hard-core capitalists often read Marx because they privately admit that he understood Capitalism as few have before or since.
One of Marx’s most famous phrases, one that nearly everybody has heard is that “religion is the opiate of the people.” The implication is that religion makes people dull-witted and insensate, as if the opiates where used for pleasure turned addiction. But Marx did not mean it that way. As with understanding most things, context is everything:
“Religious suffering is, at one and the same time, the expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people. The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is the demand for their real happiness. To call on them to give up their illusions about their condition is to call on them to give up a condition that requires illusions. The criticism of religion is, therefore, in embryo, the criticism of that vale of tears of which religion is the halo.”
(Contribution to Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right, 1843).
Taken in context, Marx seems to acknowledge that religion has a role to play, and a positive one inasmuch as it provides some comfort to the oppressed and a conscience to the rest of the world. Marx calls religion an illusion that treats symptoms rather than causes, but he understands that it is often a necessary illusion.
My feeling is that Marx and many others of all political persuasions underestimate the value and power of religion in times of upheaval. I say this as one who is not entirely sanguine about the existence of the Big Guy, but who has received some very real comfort and reprieve from religious groups. Many religious leaders and congregations are at the forefront of the push for social justice and relief for the poor and the unemployed. They are the very best kind of troublemakers. In South America and elsewhere, the Liberation Theologians so despised and misrepresented by Glenn Beck and his cohorts make the shocking proposal that one read the Bible from the perspective of the very poor and act accordingly.
If you are unemployed or destitute, if you haven’t already talk to the local clergy of whichever denomination you feel comfortable approaching. Most of them can help you or direct you to resources even if you aren’t a member of their church. The good ones will, anyway. Churches are also becoming hotbeds of activism. Some sponsor Common Security Clubs or let clubs use their facilities for meetings.
In Marx’s day, opiates were a powerful tool in the hands of a skilled physician. They were used to relieve pain and suffering. The context of Marx’s famous line makes it clear that it was this use of opium that matches the role of religion among the downtrodden. If you are part of a church or congregation, find out what services they have for people who are unemployed. If you need them, make use of them. If you don’t, support them with your time and generous contributions.
