THE POINT OF THOUGHT IS TO CHANGE THE WORLD

"The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point is to change it." Karl Marx

The critical theorists have merely analyzed the world, but the point is to interact with it, to use theory as a guide to help us intercede intelligently on behalf of the quality of life. The purpose of intellectual mediation is direct action toward the realization and attainment of quality.

Critical theorists have interpreted Marx in such a way that they merely shift the content of philosophy in the direction of society, but this procedure still remains within the morass of analysis. Critical theorists have not escaped theory, they have simply refined it. To them, "changing the world," means analyzing the world with a different emphasis.

To examine critical theory critically is to discover that it's a discipline void of praxis. The praxis of theory is taken to be the activity of theory itself. While theory does contain a necessary revolutionary element, in itself, without direct activity, it remains a mere abstraction. The power of theory doesn't actually begin until theory is realized in social action.   

When we speak of direct activity we are not talking about street protests, we are talking about polemics: direct intellectual engagement with the intelligentsia. We are talking about attacking error, about holding the values of the liberal line from a position of offense, a kind of preventative strike. This strike is not an act of physical violence but an act of intellectual force. If one has not murdered error, then one has not engaged in the direct activity of polemics.

To what end does the thinker think? Merely to produce aesthetic abstraction? Surely not, oppressed life doesn't have the luxury of suspending itself in a matrix of concepts, quite the contrary, life is at every moment confronted with resistance to its essence, assaulted by that which tries to negate its quality. If life wants to thrive it must learn how to fight, and in the intellectual realm, this inevitably drives one in the direction of polemics.
 
II.

The theorist has begun to occupy the place of the priest in culture; pontificating against revolutionary action in the name of the authority of theory itself. In this regard much is explained by class structure. Most people try to justify the activity of their class, they lack the objectivity of a higher, social context. A good thinker must have the ability to transcend the valuations of culture, where this is lacking the thinker merely replicates what he is taught and what he observes. Uncritical replication is the opposite of thought. Without the capacity to think against culturation one's view of the world is made up of constructs as opposed to reality.  

One must analyze the world before they can change it, but one should not assume that analysis comprises revolutionary totality. While thought is, and must be the axiom of all qualitative revolution, thought must also make contact with the real world. Revolutionary consciousness is that which realizes, not only its oppression, but also the conditions that spawn and sustain its oppression. Revolutionary consciousness comes to comprehend the impulsive nature of human action as it concocts a senseless and disorganized existence of production that ultimately detracts from the well being of society, thus sabotaging the quality of the individual. Thought seeks to rectify this stupidity by mediating with intelligence. Conscious being uses thought to transform reality in the direction of quality. This is the highest purpose of philosophy; a philosophy liberated from the confusions of idealism. The question then becomes, how can we make use of the tool of thought to transcend the mindless impulse of human action? (This is what a proper philosophical question looks like.)

For those of us who are intellectuals, bonafide thinkers, this drives us into the realm of polemics. Polemics, when done vigorously, constitute an authentic form of praxis, a place where theory becomes concrete. It must be noted that it's not enough to engage in theory, theory without polemics would be akin to the knowledge of medicine without doctors to administer it. Though we can treat and cure many diseases, though we may have solved many medical problems, without doctors to bridge the gap between theory and practice, medical science would remain an abstraction, isolated to the pages of academic text books and journals.

If we truly want to transform the world, as intellectuals, then we must acquire the skill of polemics, and more importantly, we must actually practice polemics against the preachers of error and misinformation. There is no way around this conclusion. Truth demands its replication against the falsity which tries to claim the throne of its authority.
 
III.

We have been specific about the content of revolutionary activity, expounding the concrete side of what it means to change the world. For intellectuals this means engaging in polemic activity. It means going after the purveyors of deception. It means criticism, debate and refutation, the power of argument, it also means attacking error. Polemics are not passive, they work best when they strike out in the offensive. We must not wait until propagandists have captured the world, and only then proceed to refute their error, because then it's too late. Revolutionary intellectuals must go after them the moment they make an appearance on the public stage. The best way to stop a cult is before it even begins. Once a cult obtains a collection of followers those followers are often irrationally committed unto the point of death.

Polemics is a discipline of foresight, it is also a method of reclamation. Polemics seek to defend and prevent the tragic destruction of the non-violent procedures of democratic communication. 

Critical theorists and philosophers have merely analyzed the world in different ways, thereby allowing it to be captured by those who sought to exploit it. By forsaking the practical side of things, critical theorists and philosophers have merely retreated from the world into abstract, idealistic realms, they have failed to make contact with reality, and thereby lost the world to those who sought to exploit it through the practical domain.

The point of thought is to guide action in the direction of intelligence for the purpose of quality. All life that deviates from this objective has deviated from the authority and clarity of itself within the context of the universe. In short, it has begun to act in the service of its own negation.


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