England Grealish taking the knee 2021Getty

'Southgate is right to say they will keep doing it' - Why taking the knee has nothing to do with Marxism

There is an argument doing the rounds in England that taking the knee before matches is a Marxist gesture.

According to one historian, those who subscribe to this school of thought can be summed up in one word: "F*ckwits".

"There is no real connection," says Keith Flett, a published author on Marxist and 19th century British labour history, and chair of the London Socialist Historians group. "Marx had no interest in football, despite what the Monty Python sketch might tell you!

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"(Friedrich) Engels may have been interested. He was active, with long walks across Hampstead. But Marx was frequently unwell. He may have played, but only if his doctor allowed him to!

"This supposed link comes from the far right. It is a boo word, trying to scare people."

The mistaken belief that there is a connection between taking the knee and Marxism is rooted in its association with Black Lives Matter (BLM).

The anti-racist protest group embraced the symbolic act of taking the knee – which NFL player Colin Kaepernick employed as a form of protest against racial injustice in the United States by refusing to stand for the national anthem – following the murder of George Floyd by a police officer last year.

While one of BLM's founders admitted to having Marxist beliefs in 2015, the group has little to do with left-wing political theory.

"There are people from the left in Black Lives Matter, insofar as the left wants to fight racism and ensure an equal society," Flett explains. "But that is far from the only element in BLM. You have liberals with a small 'l', you have centrists and also people who are not politically engaged but who think racism is a bad thing.

"There are disparate Marxist groups, most of them are very small. I don't think if you added all the members together you would get 10,000.

"BLM is far larger than 10,000 and most of them will not see themselves as Marxist, now or in the future. They go to protests, then they will move on. To say they are all Marxists, it would be nice if they were, but they're not.

"Marxism is a way of understanding how the world works, looking at how capitalism works and how it doesn't.

"It examines how workers are exploited. (Vladimir) Lenin said capitalism leads to monopoly, which you can see in the large corporations we have today. It is a valid way of trying to understand the world.

"It was not just some old bloke poring over books. They were trying to understand what capitalism was about and introducing fundamental change."

Gareth Southgate England 2021Getty

A Spurs fan, Flett is a keen follower of football who says he has backed "anyone but England" in the past due to Scottish roots, though he concedes that "cheering for Scotland is sometimes harder than being a Marxist!" 

However, he has been left perplexed by the fact that some England fans felt compelled to boo their own players for taking the knee pre-Euro 2020 friendlies against Austria and Romania.

"You assume it is because they are happy with the way things are at the moment, which frankly seems rather strange," Flett says.

"The players taking a knee, they are extremely wealthy young men; they don't want a revolution. But what they also don't want is people yelling at them about Marxism, racism and whatever. That is not something you want in 2021."

Now in his 60s, Flett feels that as far as any Marxist associations with taking the knee go, you can apply a theoretical reading to the current debate as an example of history being circular, and any progress under capitalism being illusory.

He says: "In the 1970s, we had the National Front as the third party in London, then we had the BNP, EDL and whoever. They hardly exist now but with each generation, it is overhauled and reappears again. That is where a Marxist analysis of society comes in. Discrimination is central to how capitalism works, and any progress is never permanent.

"It is difficult to see why people oppose [taking the knee]. It's about people not having to put up with unpleasant comments because of their background.

"Most large companies embrace movements like BLM, social justice movements and anti-racism programmes, as they realise consumers are multi-racial and come from different backgrounds. The FA, I can guarantee you that there are no Marxists there; they just want to encourage participation in their sport."

Gareth Southgate has promised that his England players will continue to take the knee at the Euros, with the hope that the real message behind the gesture will eventually shine through.

Flett is hopeful, saying: "The hardcore of booers will never be broken, but there are plenty who can be stopped, and who could realise they should oppose booing. Most people are reasonable, and if you put it to them that taking the knee is anti-racist, they would agree and understand.

"It is quite possible to win people around. Southgate is right to say they will keep doing it."

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