Youth try to understand society through Marx’s ‘Capital’

Japan Press Weekly

Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

Youth try to understand society through Marx’s ‘Capital’

Young people in Kochi Prefecture are tackling Karl Marx’s “Capital” at a local study meeting, which is open to anyone, including those who have never read it or given up reading it many times.

The monthly study meeting is hosted by the Kochi Prefectural Association for Workers’ Education. 29 participants, with ages ranging from 20 to 85 years old are attending, and nearly half of them are young people.

The three-hour meeting is divided into one-hour lecture, one-hour smaller group discussion, 30 minutes for each group to report on points raised in their discussions, and the last 30 minutes for questions and answers.

At 9.30 am of April 25, students began their study on “Money, or the Circulation of Commodities” in a classroom at Kochi University.

Their discussion topic on that day was inflation. They examined how inflation begins and how it affects a given society. For young participants who have only experienced deflation, an elderly student talked about the inflation they had witnessed shortly after the end of WWII.

‘I don’t want to be swept along only by daily life’

“Marx’s capitalism can be applied to the present society,” said Inaba Minako, a 26-year-old law office worker who also goes to night college classes. She drives for two hours to attend the study meeting. “I don’t want to be swept along only by the routines of daily life. I’m trying to find out what we can do by understanding ‘Capital’,” she said.

Kurokawa Keiko said that she finds the study class very interesting although she has never read books written by Marx or Friedrich Engels. “If you don’t learn how to act to create a better society, you just accept this society as it is. I hope this study meeting will be an opportunity for me to begin to understand the real world,” said the 22-year-old hospital worker.

Teachers discuss too

Shimoda Hirofumi, a 32-year-old associate professor at Kochi University, is one of the four teachers facilitating the study meetings. He said, “We attach great importance on discussion time in order for the participants to recognize their roles in society through Marx’s eyes.”

“It would be hard for the participants to follow the class if they only listened to teachers. They seem to enjoy the discussions,” said another teacher, Okada Kazuto, who works for the Japanese Communist Party Kochi Prefectural Committee.

Before the class starts, the four teachers meet for three hours in order to decide on the written materials to use and the topic of discussion.

Turning knowledge into strength

“I feel that the current poverty issue and ‘Capital’ match very well. I want to finish reading it by the time I graduate,” said a 21-year-old college student.

Matsumoto Kenji, a 26-year-old union staff member, said, “I want to try to understand the root causes of the contradictions we have in this society. Hopefully, I can turn the knowledge I gain into my attempt to help to make a better society.”

- Akahata Sunday edition, May 9, 2010