Philosophy of Vagueness
The article “Reflections about Transcending the Dialectics” by Franz J. T. Lee is pretty bad.
“On this is based the fallacy that change can only come from within…” Marx would probably agree with the “fallacy” that change can only come from within, because what isn’t within? The mind is not separate from the body, an individual’s character is strongly influenced by society, the nation is part of the global economy.
But maybe the author meant something else and that’s the problem: Dialectial texts are usually either so vague that they can justify anything (understandably some people consider that a very attractive property) or, when it gets concrete, they are simply wrong. Does anybody aside from the author know what he meant with “chemtrails” that “are changing use-values into exchange-values” (I know the latter two concepts very well, yet this doesn’t make sense to me)?
While Engels was apparantly strongly influenced by dialectical philosophy, it is doubtful that Marx had much respect for it, even though he recycled some terms. Here is an infamous quote from a letter by Marx to Engels: “It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way.”
If it is your goal to reach normal people — and as a leftist that is my goal — use the language of normal people.
Funny text on dialectics:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/rosa.l/Boiling%20Mad.htm