Robert Baxter

ELA III

Mrs. Percival

28th April 2017

A Brief Examination

Of

Marxist Theory

&

Black No More

If the world were a great machine, it would be fuelled by money and power. But

who would run it ⎯ the few, or the many? This, simply speaking, is the basis on which
Marxist Theory is built. Marxists believe that the history of Man is a simple singular conflict

between the owners and the workers, the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. It is a clear-cut,

black and white theory. However, there are those who disagree. In George S. Schuyler’s

Black No More, Schuyler views Marxism as grossly oversimplified, because he believes that

there are more forces at work than just the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, such as race, religion,

political ideology, and greed. We see this in Black No More by the way characters use conflict

for their own benefit, create conflict to continue benefitting from it by manipulating opposing

sides using fear, and how protagonist Matthew Fisher obtains, holds, and uses his power.

Marxist Theory, or Marxism, is based on “the conviction that socialism is inevitable…

the free enterprise system, or capitalism, was doomed and that socialism was the only

alternative” (Meyer, 190b). From this basic principle, it is hypothesized that the entirety of

human history has been “a struggle between the ruling and working classes… and… that private

ownership of the chief means of production was the heart of the class system” (Meyer, 190b -

191). Throughout history, the ruling classes in societies have used different methods such as

political organizations, laws, traditions, customs, ideologies, religious beliefs, and rituals to

control and exploit the working class. As a result of this, Marxists believe that the way to

become truly free is for the proletariat, the workers, to overthrow the bourgeoisie, the ruling

class, through revolution or similar actions.

Through these actions, Marxist believe that the working class with take over the means of

production, transferring it from a small number of wealthy people to the the community as a

whole. By doing so, the class system would disappear, and the increased production would allow

for more leisure, creative, and personal time for each person.
 In Schuyler’s Black No More, proponents of racial superiority, racial purity, and eugenics

are lampooned by showing that they do not want to fix the problem (in this instance, race), but

use the conflict for their own benefit, some to gain money, and others for power. Schuyler’s

representation of these people, in the character of Reverend Henry Givens, uses conflict to gain

both. When he was the treasurer of the Ku Klux Klan, “the Rev. Givens toiled diligently … in

withdrawing as much money from its treasury as possible” (Schuyler, Black No More, 38). After

a long period of this, Givens left the KKK and lived off the money he had embezzled. However,

upon hearing of the unrest of people over the subject of Black-No-More, Inc, Givens founded a

KKK-esque organization; the Knights of Nordica. However, this was not because Givens was a

champion of the white race, but rather because “the prospect of a full treasury to dig into again

made his … hands itch” (38). Givens also used the conflict to gain power through the Knights of

Nordica, and “the influence of the order was becoming so great that Rev. Givens was beginning

to dream of a berth in the White House or nearby” (65). Through the actions of Reverend

Givens, Schuyler shows that people like Givens do not, in reality, want to fix the problems they

“oppose,” but instead want to use them for personal gains. Marxist Theory, however, postulates

that Givens would want to use these conflicts for the benefit of his class. Schuyler’s counter-

postulate is that the actions and goals of the individual are motivated by the individual, not by the

class bracket that the individual belongs to.

When the conflict of black people is removed, people create another conflict; in order to

continue benefitting from it; white people who used to be black. In Black No More, Schuyler

uses the character of Arthur Snobbcraft, and the genealogical law that he wants to pass, to

illustrate this point. Like Rev. Givens, Arthur Snobbcraft is the head of a white supremacist
organization, albeit a more extreme one. The Anglo-Saxon Organization is not only an

organization that promotes white supremacy, but one that promotes Anglo-Saxon white

supremacy, which means that people such as the members of the Knights of Nordica were those

who Snobbcraft “wanted to legislate into impotency, social economic and physical” (Schuyler,

Black No More, 101). People like Givens and Snobbcraft do not want to fix problems, as they

exploit them for personal gain. Therefore, the operation of Black-No-More, Inc, is a great thorn

in the side of Snobbcraft, as it would remove the problem which he exploits. However,

Snobbcraft’s lust for for power is so great that he concocts an idea that would throw the entire

country into chaos just so he can continue exploiting a problem; passing a “genealogical law …

disenfranchising all people of Negro or unknown origin” (101). As Schuyler writes of the Anglo-

Saxon Organization, “they saw an opportunity, for the first time in years to get into power; and

they took it” (102). While this is in line with what Marxist Theory predicts the bourgeoisie

would do, it deviates from it in that Snobbcraft seeks not to control any particular lower class,

but to better himself by whatever means necessary. Again, Schuyler’s underlying point remains;

that Marxist Theory is oversimplified due to the actions of the individual, which do not always

align with the group the individual is said to be with. However, Schuyler’s climax in his criticism

of Marxist Theory comes not from organizations, but from the actions of a single man.

Rev. Givens and Arthur Snobbcraft exploit and create conflicts, respectively, but it is in

the character of Matthew Fisher that Schuyler brings forth the most damning evidence in

opposition of Marxist Theory - that conflicts are used for personal gain by the manipulation of

opposing sides using fear. Marxists believe that all history is a struggle between the ruling and Commented [1]: How is this oppositional?

working classes, with nothing in between. No individual gain is allowed, due to the fact that all
of society is aligned with one of two factions. However, Fisher, a Negro who turns white, joins

the Knights of Nordica in an effort to gain money, in direct conflict with what Marxist Theory

postulates he would do. Throughout his time, he rises in rank until he is second only to Rev.

Givens. On the side, Fisher develops a business of speaking to workers on the dangers of

Bolshevism and Communism, and is paid handsomely by the company owners for keeping the

workers de-unionized. By stoking the workers’ fear of Communism and Socialism, and the

business owners’ fears of labor unions, Fisher is able to manipulate both sides into giving him

what he wants; money. Marxists believe that there are only two sides in the struggle; the ruling

and working classes. However, Fisher is the representation of the individuals on each side, who

make their own decisions and choose their own side, which in some cases is themselves.

Matthew Fisher holds power due to his position, because people follow him. In Fisher’s

own words, “I’ve learned something … and that is that hatred and prejudice always go over big.

These people have been raised on the … problem, … used to it, … react to it. Why should I rack

my brains to hunt up something else when I can use a dodge that’s always delivered the goods?”

(Schuyler, Black No More, 89). In other words, Fisher knows that the members of the Knights of

Nordica will believe what he tells them because they are used to hearing what he says. Marxist

Theory would regard this as an example of the bourgeoisie using different social mechanisms to

maintain control over the proletariat. However, Schuyler points out that Fisher is not aligned

with either of these classes, and thus is using these control mechanisms for his own gain.

Through this, the underlying fault of Marxist Theory, in Schuyler’s view, is revealed; that there

cannot be only two sides in any conflict, due to the fact that groups are made of individuals who

do not think the same way as each other.

 George Schuyler uses the book Black No More to illustrate how the theory of Marxism is

grossly oversimplified in its exclusion of factors such as racial, religious, political, and personal

conflicts, and their role in the overall functioning of society. This brief examination of that

hypothesis is meant to induce thought and self-reflection of those things that we may simplify

without realizing it. For if one believes that the world is composed of two parts, how would they

cope with the discovery that there are three?

WORKS CITED
 Schuyler, George Samuel. Black No More: Being an Account of the Strange and

Wonderful Working of Science in the Land of the Free, A. D. 1933 - 1940. Mineola, NY, Dover

Publ., 2011.

Meyer, Alfred G. “Marx, Karl.” World Book Encyclopedia, 1972nd ed., vol. 13, Field

Enterprises Educational Corporation, 1971, pp. 190a–191.