Nikos Sotirakopoulos on the Intellectual Success of Marxism

What draws people to radical collectivist ideologies like Marxism? How can we explain the success of communism in the twentieth century? And what can we learn from its success about what it takes to spread any philosophy? In his talk “Lessons from the Intellectual Success of Marxism” at AynRandCon-Europe in Amsterdam, Nikos Sotirakopoulos — once a staunch advocate of Marxism himself — answered these questions.

In the talk (now online), Sotirakopoulos explains how one of the most powerful attractions to communism is the ethical idea of living for other people and working for the greater good. “We’ve been told that altruism is the only morality . . . . To be good is to be selfless, to be good is to self-sacrifice, and the Marxists capitalize on that,” said Sotirakopoulos. But there was more to communism’s success; it was marketed as a serious intellectual movement, allegedly rooted in science, and it attracted and produced a legion of intellectuals who spread its ideas.

After explaining the aspects of the Marxist movement that led to its rise, Sotirakopoulos argues that the pro-capitalist movement must attack the altruistic foundation of Marxism. We need a new and radical morality. And there is one — presented in the fiction and works of Ayn Rand. To win hearts and minds, however, this vision needs more intellectuals, artists, teachers, and activists.

During the Q&A session, Sotirakopoulos addressed questions on various topics, such as

• Why altruistic arguments for capitalism fail;
• The relationship between Marxism and anti-Semitism;
• How Sotirakopoulos came to reject Marxism;
• The importance of numbers in a movement.

If you want to learn how to make our own movement more successful, watch the whole video: