by Noah Clawson

Our mission is to provide a safe, peaceful space where people are free to let their guard down and be creative. Thus, we make a conscious effort to avoid heated political talk. At the same time, we feel that on a societal level, our freedoms are slipping away. If we do nothing to address this issue, we may arrive at a point where our society is too repressive to accommodate our bookstore. This quandary has led us to discuss how to integrate the micro and the macro aspects of freedom. Our solution is to change our approach toward supporting democracy. Instead of pointing out the problems and fighting against oppression, we want to open the door to solutions and support freedom. Instead of invoking the burden of what ought to be done, we want to rekindle the wonder, whimsy, and curiosity of what we want to do.

With this in mind, we would like to introduce you to Entropic Marxism (EM): the new philosophy we have been developing… record scratch. Take a deep breath. We know that using the term “Marxism” comes with significant risk and emotional baggage. We encourage everyone to put on their critical thinking hats. As we lay out the philosophy of EM, you will see it is fundamentally different from classical Marxism. Most importantly, we believe in whimsical evolution, not violent revolution. We want to cultivate the soil for grassroots discussion, not spearhead a coup d’état at the town hall. Rest assured, our unwavering commitment to maintaining a safe, welcoming space is fully reflected in our store policy (see below).

FELIXOLOGY STORE POLICY FOR A SAFE PLACE

To our customers, we strictly enforce the following policy of in-store behavior:

1. No Gulags – No customer may force any human to work to death, even if that work helps the local economy.
2. No Coercion Through Torture – No customer may inflict extreme mental or physical duress on a person for the purpose of compelling them to express a certain perspective.
3. No Kangaroo Courts – No person may create a judicial body whose sole purpose is to find people guilty of a crime irrespective of the evidence.

Please note: We vigorously purge any behavior not consistent with our bookstore community. To this end, we keep a giant, analog Rolodex of all our customers’ personal information. Failure to abide by these policies may lead to severe penalties, such as mandatory self-criticism sessions, re-education, and dramatic public execution. (Also, please note that these policies are subject to change depending entirely on how the situation benefits our bottom line).

Joking aside, whether online or in our reading groups, we deeply welcome your dissent, critique, and correction. Thank you for your cooperation and sense of humor, and we hope to see you soon at Felixology!

WHAT IS MEANT BY ENTROPIC MARXISM

Let’s start with the Marxism part: Like Karl Marx, we agree that power should go to the people. By “the people,” we mean the average person—folks like you and your neighbors right here in town. We also agree with Marx that the people should control the means of production. Having said that, we recognize that the world has drastically changed since the nineteenth century. In order to achieve real power for the people today, we need to adapt our approach to fit the realities of our modern era.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

Marx believed that capitalism would pull people into cities to work side-by-side in dense factories. He theorized that this physical proximity would naturally allow workers to communicate, organize, and spark a revolution. But times have changed. The vast majority of people no longer work on assembly lines. Today, we are digitally connected by phones, screens, and global networks rather than bound together by shared factory floors. While this lets us communicate instantly, it also scatters us—meaning the old way of building worker solidarity no longer applies.

THE EVOLUTION OF ENERGY SECTORS

During the early industrial era, economies relied heavily on coal and steam power to run factories designed to assemble raw materials into commodities. Since then, the energy landscape has radically evolved. Today, we harness diverse power sources like solar, wind, hydroelectric, nuclear, and natural gas, converting them into electricity. Through the electrical grid, this energy is instantly distributed into our homes, businesses, and automated industries. Because modern manufacturing has shifted or automated, Entropic Marxism updates the old socialist framework: instead of just seizing factory floors, our primary focus today is on democratic public control over the electrical grid and energy systems.

This goal is completely in line with our “evolution, not revolution” philosophy. To see how this starts, we don’t have to look far. In our neighboring town of Concord, Massachusetts, the municipality successfully runs its own electric company. Could we explore doing the same right here in Maynard? That is the exact kind of practical question we want to tackle in our community discussion groups.

If an idea like that hits a roadblock, at least we will gain a better “lay of the land” and learn where to pivot next. This is how we see Entropic Marxism growing: from the bottom up, through neighbors sharing information and taking concrete, peaceful steps to improve their daily lives.

For Further Reading:

• The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels
• Wage Labor and Capital by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels
• Experience & Education by John Dewey
• The Public and its Problems by John Dewey
• How We Think by John Dewey

For Fun:

• Karl Marx Finger Puppet
• Karl Marx Card