NOTES ON MARXISM AND SOCIOLOGY IN THE USA.

The article focuses on Marxists in the United States. In this country Marxism has always been regarded as a foreign import, part of the unwanted baggage of the newer European immigrants. Because Marxism has no institutional base in the United States, to be a Marxist here is to renounce any hope of gaining power in most institutional spheres, including the academic world. For in the normal course of events Marxist identification is a considerable personal and professional liability. Few Marxists have senior appointments in the elite universities and those few are seldom treated very well. Therefore, being a Marxist in this country entails considerable personal sacrifice, it is a decision having significant social and intellectual consequences. Ambitious individuals would tend to steer away from Marxist identification since it can only limit their horizons. Here individuals must become Marxist out of somewhat different kinds of motivations. At any given time some of the players are winners but most are losers.