"If you meet Marx on the road, kill Marx."

[Starry Messenger]

2. I think the theory gets applied dogmatically because people neglect materialism.

Actual materialism, where current events and forces are looked at. It is good to examine history, but trying to apply the solutions of one phase of history to the now doesn't make any sense. As you say "We are in a new century, a new era with new problems and we need new solutions."

Things are always shifting. Marx and Lenin wrote a lot about this too, I'm not sure why some Marxists skip over the "practicum" part of their respective works. I read other socialist boards too and the arguing reminds me of DC vs. Marvel flamewars on fandom boards.

*We* are the modern theorists. I think those of us on DU realize that the current government of the US is a factor in what we need to consider, and that it is important not to neglect the electoral arena. That gives us a leg-up from armchair philosophy already, imo. How can we build from there?