A lesson in marxism for Labour

Why does the Labour party consider Jeremy Corbyn to be a Marxist whilst at the same time viewing Labour left wing manifesto as progressive? Marx was writing in the 19th century and his ideas were mauled by among others Lenin and Stalin before being discredited and flung into the dustbin of history. Had Marx undertaken a review of the Corbyn/Milne agenda he would have called it “vulgar socialism”, redistributive,  based on the idea that society comprises those with money (from whom you extract it) and those in need to whom you give it. Marx didn’t say much about what came after this socialist phase, but he did not see it as the final showpiece for his Communist Manifesto. He saw Communism as the “negation of the negation”, something negating socialism, socialism which has itself negated capitalism. So from our perspective, we believe we have had since the end of World War II a credible form of socialism which has progressed fairness and opened up opportunities to working people, now, however, socialism is turning on the people, with taxation, debt and strained public services. Some public sector workers are treated worse than a 19th-century mill worker whoever is in power. All this is going on whilst the socio-industrial model so beloved of the left pays a fortune to the socio-industrial systems least productive tier the chief executives and senior managers.

Socialism whether the modern socio-industrial hybrid we see in the NHS and public sector today or the actual industrial model so beloved of Corbyn is actually counter-revolutionary as well as being counter productive.