I became interested in understanding the phenomenon of anti-semitism from a materialist perspective, this discussion will proceed from Karl Kautsky's perspective of its origin, laid out in "Are the Jews a Race?".
>https://www.marxists.org/archive/kautsky/1914/jewsrace/ch06.htm>https://www.marxists.org/archive/kautsky/1914/jewsrace/ch07.htmThese two chapters from Karl Kautsky's "Are the Jews a Race?" trace the long journey of the Jewish people from their homeland in Palestine to the European diaspora, at which point they lacked a territory/administration of their own. Kautsky explains how Jews were integrated into the feudal economy in certain roles, primarily those suited to cities and outside of artisanal production (which was regulated by guilds). These roles happened to be non-productive roles of mediation, like trade, financial roles, and intellectual roles. There were exceptions and variations across Europe, but due to religious pressures, social norms, and rules, they were largely prevented from assimilation. The economic role of the Jews was reified by the racialists as innate aspects, and this forms the basis for anti-semitism. Therefore, through a materialist analysis, which discovers that social groups are determined by material circumstances and not innate qualities, it becomes plain that anti-semitism is opposed to materialism.
Please share your thoughts on alternative explanations for anti-semitism, especially in its modern form. At this point, Jewish people are assimilated into production at a high degree, to the point where the average person cannot distinguish them as a group. Could it just be a feudal remnant? There needs to be a new theory to explain phenomenon of anti-semitism under present conditions.