Mental Illness, Psychology, and Marxism.

Collaborated piece by Charles and Alexandria. (Article is subject to change later in time)

A big issue with the leftist community, specifically within the communist left-right spectrum, is in the failure to hold, organizationally, a firm understanding on dealing with those who suffer from mental illness or psychological issues.

As with mental illness, more generalized psychological issues are something unavoidable. Those who suffer under issues such as these, need not only protection, but also understanding. And this is where, as Marxists, we must understand the subject and issues of mental illness and psychological issues.

Depression:

Depression, for example, is very rampant in the communist community. One of the proposed reasons for this is communists are well educated as to the realization that life under capitalism,--that is to say, bearing witness to the exploitation and wage slavery of capitalism, is inescapable; alongside this, at some point in the communist's life, they will need to sell their labor-power for cheap, just to survive in capitalist society. Of course this is not the only subject that can drive a communist to depression, or anyone else for that matter, as there exist plenty of other circumstances, such as losing a family member, a partner, going through a traumatic event, etc. Some comrades even suffer from depression disorders, or random depression spikes as I call them. They can take place for no reason, or for small reasons.

Regardless, depression is something all go through at least once, and it needs to be understood through analysis and socializing with those comrades; it's important in coming to understanding of their issues. None of this is fixed with a simple “get over it” or “be happy.”

Alongside this, in all, the main considerations of these tendencies of depression in among members of the radical left lie in having to bear these realizations in environments wherein the ideology is not tolerated, or their general presence is systematically disregarded or discriminated against. That is to say, in among open trans communists, or those comrades of color present throughout educational institutions as students or simply in existence as a minority oppressed people in capitalist society, it is made clear through the endless murder and exploitation of these groups in specific of workers that such issues may well arise.

Anxiety:

Just like depression, comrades can suffer from anxiety from many circumstances, often usually from being overworked by capitalist mode of production. Sometimes comrades suffer from anxiety disorders where anxiety comes up for little to no reason. Anxiety, like depression, is not something of easy nature, it can be mild or it can lead to harmful trauma, and can end up leading down the road of mental illness, like, for example, anxiety disorders and depression disorders. If allowed to progress, anxiety can be very traumatic on ones ability to cope with subjects, social events, education, relationships, etc.

Psychological issues, mental illness, and the poor:

When on the subject of psychological issues, mental illness, and the poor, there are present many factors in the equation. First, and foremost, the impoverished community is a place where psychological issues and mental illness can prosper. I'm not saying everyone who is impoverished suffers these issues, but it makes them easier to obtain these issues, especially since it is the poor who is overworked and exploited, which may lead some down the path of mental illness due to certain environmental conditions, psychology, worries about economic conditions, etc. - these can gradually build to situations of extreme mental problems. Not to mention the events of death or loss that can occur for any impoverished family or individual.

Going into the subject of poverty; those who are impoverished can hardly afford to live by today's standards, and as such to throw psychological issues or mental illness on top of it, makes it more difficult to cope, for it is expensive to seek proper help. Getting the needed medications is costly for those without functional insurance, and even so, the fulfillment of a prescription in the first place is expensive given the structural profiteering derived of the “psychiatry industry” as a whole. Counselors and psychotherapists can often charge hundreds of dollars to talk with people who are suffering these issues, and at times to no avail. It is because of the lack of properly dealing with the issues, and the inability to afford them, that lead some impoverished people to either isolate themselves, seek spirituality, or self-medication.

Self-medication can be seen as the best solution for some people who are suffering from psychological issues or mental illness, - however, we must define the subject of self-medication. What makes your ability to cope easier? What do you do that helps decrease the spuriousness of your illnesses? Any number of things could be used, be it music, socializing, alcohol, marijuana, art, yoga, etc. Healthy things that help people cope is the best solution for some people. However, what must be understood is, self-medication isn't a fix for all. Some people absolutely need prescription drugs to deal with their issues, and this is where the subject must be addressed, that prescription drugs must be affordable to all impoverished people.

Communist involvement and solidarity with those who suffer such issues:

The radical left must and in many cases has come to the conclusion of mental illness as a subset of issues that have arisen due to capitalism. The whole of such institutions as those dealing with psychiatric issues--that is to say, mental institutions, wards, etc.--are fundamentally ableist in their dealings and seek, as with any other organization involved in dealings of healthcare under capitalism, only a means whereby profit can be easily extracted. It is in this that the industry of proceedings with mental health are structured in such an arguably predatory manner, so as to extract profits without dealing entirely well or efficiently with the associative issues of mental illness in their many forms.

While it is a difficult situation for organizations to tackle in the way of the provision of a concrete means of well-being through such things as medication, the very precipice of presence within an organization of these types in among those who wish to be in them can be enough: the provision of a sense of community and belonging can be one of the few pushes needed for people to seek the betterment of their mental health. However, this is not always the case, and is most typical, especially regarding present conditions of capital.

Education and Individuality: A Marxist Perspective

When it comes to individuality, many people who live in capitalist systems, are instructed on a daily basis that under socialism, individuality is crushed, with the idea of making everyone the same. In intellectual circles, this process is known as levelling. However, this myth is actually the opposite of the truth. Under capitalism, as we've seen from history, individuality is crushed at the youngest age.

The American school system is not only underfunded, it is organized to destroy one’s creativity, their identity, and their talents, in order to make the most obedient, repetitive workers to maximize profits. Individualism is not lauded. It is frowned upon. We run our schools like factories; with the separation of subjects, the clanging of the bell, the grouping of age groups, the isolation of a student from collective effort, etc. The creativity of students is ignored, and the fundamental fact is that all learn differently is forgotten. Instead of changing the way of learning, to fill the needs of all, we punish those who learn differently, as if there is something being wrong with them. Students are placed in certain classes, given a label, and ‘educators’ act as if this passes for quality education, when all it does is isolate students more. The reality that a lot of kids work best when in groups is not considered, as is the case with workers, so why are students isolated? Isolation is part of the system that prepares them for the isolation of the workplace once they reach working age. The workers always intertwine at some point within the period of learning but lack the reasoning skills to tackle complex questions. This is the equivalent of an entire society shooting itself in the foot. For this reason, the capitalist theory of education, like the model of education here in America, is a complete failure. It is the contradiction of education. Education for the capitalists, is to teach workers basic skills, and to stop there. Enough to be profitable in the near future, and pacifist to accept the current lifestyle. This educational paradigm is the contradiction of education. If your form of education does not dig deep in to the creative, intellectual spirit and talents of someone, or does not give them a drive to further their educational learning outside of school, your model of education is a failure, it cripples the advancement of society.

The educational system doesn't need to be reformed, it needs a revolution: a change of the entire system. A socialist system of education is required. Socialism changes the entirety of the educational system. It makes possible one that focuses on the creativity and activity of the student body to advance teaching and education. It creates one that uses collective activity to build students up, and help education go smoother.

What is needed here are classrooms where students can work together in teams, write on boards, and find answers or study collectively to create. This method of study of history, math, or science functions well. English will require creative writing and thought. Reading should be encouraged by allowing students to read what they wish, interests them. It is not possible to throw articulate pieces of literature at children knowing that cannot comprehend what they are about. And collective effort, between the intellectually articulate, and those who lack intellectual skills, is important in advancing students who need to be on such a level. It helps further to advance understanding, and the creation of amazing writing samples. As a Marxist, this is how I view the individual and education. What we have today, is a lack thereof.

Reality after Graduation

I, a young graduate, who just graduated from high school, have waited for this day for a while, just mainly to get it over with, and finally get relaxation. However I unlike many of my fellow graduates have studied a lot of this country's history and the political system it runs under. As my principle and the valedictorian speak about how this is the first step in to something important and once we walk off stage the rush of freedom from high school will hit us, I sit there thinking, knowing so much about this country, mainly politically, I can only call out their statements for the false reality that it is.

When it comes to this nation, the fact is these people don't seem to take in to account that all they are doing is stepping out of one hell for another. We are graduating, only to leave the hard struggles of school work and homework for college tuition and the debt that follows it thanks to student loans, plus the added exploitation of these future workers from the ruling capitalist class. We are leaving the schools that are not only underfunded but also controlled by the capitalist establishment to condition these young workers minds to be useful enough to run the machines while blindly accepting their conditions. With that said it's not at all a shock to hear people say they'd rather be a kid again, because they'd rather deal with homework and hard school work than be exploited and enslaved, they know and feel it's wrong, but yet they've been conditioned by the system to accept it. It's not right, and the workers can feel it's not right.

We will walk off this stand, graduated students from our high school, and yes freedom from high school will hit us like a flowing stream. However we will drown in the debt of student loans and the heavy exploitation of the capitalist work place as it enslaves us to work only for self preservation. Education is the key to the future, always has been and always will be, but when you educate yourself with only what the capitalist society has set for you, to condition you in to this specific life, it becomes a must to seek education outside the set system provided for you by the nation. To seek research outside of the provided set given to you by the system is the first step in to becoming a rebel along with an intellectual, the second is to understand and question your own government, for education is not limited only to what is in the schools, but what you can teach yourself.

There is more to life than just giving your labor away to a job that you hate, that exploits you, and enslaves you, bending you against your will just for money to pay off debt and live comfortably. Even if that debt was the debt from student loans for college needed to get the very job you hate, just to make the money needed to pay off the debt created. Debt, along with the very established system of the capitalist culture, will enslave all men and women in it, as debt becomes a obligation to deal with before death and the job gained, with the only objective for it being wages, becomes something you despise, but keep dealing with the enslavement out of fear of poverty. Every communist and socialist sees this, including I, a proud communist graduate, leaving high school graduation with my hammer and sickle dog tag displayed with the pride all communists carry.

Religious communists

By the title, and the understanding of Marxism, some people would believe the idea of “Religious communists” to be a complete fairytale, but, in fact, there are those who are communist at heart, and spiritual by tradition. But before we move on in this article, let’s look at the full quote from Marx on religion, it is more than just the “Opiate of the masses.”

"The foundation of irreligious criticism is: Man makes religion. Religion does not make man. Religion is, indeed, the self-consciousness and self-esteem of man who has either not yet won through to himself, or has already lost himself again. But man is no abstract being squatting outside the world. Man is the world of man – state, society. This state and this society produce religion, which is an inverted consciousness of the world, because they are an inverted world. Religion is the general theory of this world, its encyclopaedic compendium, its logic in popular form, its spiritual point d’honneur, its enthusiasm, its moral sanction, its solemn complement, and its universal basis of consolation and justification. It is the fantastic realization of the human essence since the human essence has not acquired any true reality. The struggle against religion is, therefore, indirectly the struggle against that world whose spiritual aroma is religion. 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."

It is important to take note the middle passage, where Marx expresses that religion is the “sigh” of an oppressed creature; the heart of a heartless world. Idealist in its form yes, but it is the creation by man to make living under an oppressive and cruel society more bearable. This is also relevant since during the time in which Marx wrote this, opium was considered one of many effective pain relievers, and still is in some parts of the world.

Both Marx and Lenin have made it clear, that religion is the belief held by the oppressed and down trodden. Only with the collapse of oppressive structures, can religion die on its own. Lenin stated, that to declare war on religion, while under oppressive systems like capitalism, will only drive the masses further toward religion. Only with the collapse of capitalism, and rise of world socialism, will religion no longer be a necessity of the masses.

Materialism:

Now, with this Marxist view of religion explained; on the subject of Materialism, the science in which Marxists use to study the world and class struggle, which opposes religious idealism: We have seen in history religious comrades use materialism to logically and scientifically study the world and class struggle. This has been seen with communists of many different religions from Christianity, to Islam, to Judaism, and so on.

Religious movements:

In history, there is not only evidence of religious communists, but also religious movements who adopt communist ideology based on religious beliefs. Such as Christian communists who support the economic theory and study of class consciousness, with the religious belief that the wealthy are less than the workers as a collective whole, for greed is considered a sin in religion, and with Marxism, greed's a damaging aspect to workers’ unity and lifestyle. Another example is Muslim communists, who support communism with the backing of their religious beliefs of Islam. Such principles as “No man may be a slave to another” and “Not a single piece of land may be privately owned.” Along with the firm beliefs of standing up for the oppressed, helping the needy, firm belief in self-defense, and to stay strong and never transgress.

With such movements, new terms have been created; terms like: Religious communism, liberation theology, Christian communism, Religious socialism, Islamic socialism, etc.

The point of this article is to make clear the words of Marx on the issue of religion, and the history of those who were and are religious that are an integral part of communist movements. It is to make clear, that our religious comrades are not any less significant, just because they follow a religion. If they have put their heart in to the liberation of the proletariat, their actions in to mass struggle and organization, and dedicate their study of materialism to analyze the world and class struggle, they are comrades of the workers.