Terence Ball
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198279952
- eISBN:
- 9780191598753
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198279957.003.0010
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Many commentators have claimed that Marx's materialist conception of history owes something to Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection. Why else, they ask, would Marx have offered to dedicate a ...
More
Many commentators have claimed that Marx's materialist conception of history owes something to Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection. Why else, they ask, would Marx have offered to dedicate a volume of Capital to Darwin? I argue, to the contrary, that Marx never made such an offer and that it would have been surprising if he had done so. Claims about a connection, methodological or otherwise, between Marx and Darwin are chimerical.Less
Many commentators have claimed that Marx's materialist conception of history owes something to Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection. Why else, they ask, would Marx have offered to dedicate a volume of Capital to Darwin? I argue, to the contrary, that Marx never made such an offer and that it would have been surprising if he had done so. Claims about a connection, methodological or otherwise, between Marx and Darwin are chimerical.
Mathew Humphrey
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199242672
- eISBN:
- 9780191599514
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199242674.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
The proponents of an ecologically inspired form of Marxism, or a Marx‐inspired form of political ecology, argue that eco‐Marxism transcends the anthropocentric‐ecocentric dichotomy, and this chapter ...
More
The proponents of an ecologically inspired form of Marxism, or a Marx‐inspired form of political ecology, argue that eco‐Marxism transcends the anthropocentric‐ecocentric dichotomy, and this chapter assesses that claim. The concept of nature in the work of Marx is examined, as are the ecological interpretations of Marx and Engels’ account of the ‘human‐nature metabolism.’ The differences between eco‐Marxism and ‘orthodox Marxism, as well as between eco‐Marxism and other forms of ecological politics are explored. Ultimately, it is held that Marx's commitment to the humanization of nature in the fulfilment of humanity's species‐being disables any form of Marxism from being adequately ecological.Less
The proponents of an ecologically inspired form of Marxism, or a Marx‐inspired form of political ecology, argue that eco‐Marxism transcends the anthropocentric‐ecocentric dichotomy, and this chapter assesses that claim. The concept of nature in the work of Marx is examined, as are the ecological interpretations of Marx and Engels’ account of the ‘human‐nature metabolism.’ The differences between eco‐Marxism and ‘orthodox Marxism, as well as between eco‐Marxism and other forms of ecological politics are explored. Ultimately, it is held that Marx's commitment to the humanization of nature in the fulfilment of humanity's species‐being disables any form of Marxism from being adequately ecological.
Terence Ball
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198279952
- eISBN:
- 9780191598753
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198279957.003.0009
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Although both Giambattista Vico and Karl Marx claimed that men `make’ their own history, each had a different view of what `making’ means and what it entails. Both agreed that humans have a special ...
More
Although both Giambattista Vico and Karl Marx claimed that men `make’ their own history, each had a different view of what `making’ means and what it entails. Both agreed that humans have a special sort of knowledge—`maker's knowledge—of what they have made. But Vico's view that Verum et factum convertuntur—that knowing and making are one—relies on a distinctly non‐material or linguistic–communicative conception of making (as in making a promise or making sense), while Marx's conception of making is decidedly materialist and is concerned with the human transformation of nature through productive labour.Less
Although both Giambattista Vico and Karl Marx claimed that men `make’ their own history, each had a different view of what `making’ means and what it entails. Both agreed that humans have a special sort of knowledge—`maker's knowledge—of what they have made. But Vico's view that Verum et factum convertuntur—that knowing and making are one—relies on a distinctly non‐material or linguistic–communicative conception of making (as in making a promise or making sense), while Marx's conception of making is decidedly materialist and is concerned with the human transformation of nature through productive labour.
Andrew Zimmerman
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781469624181
- eISBN:
- 9781469624204
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469624181.003.0013
- Subject:
- History, American History: Civil War
This chapter examines how the American Civil War influenced Karl Marx and changed the meaning of revolution, and particularly the American Revolution of 1861–1877. Through their observations and ...
More
This chapter examines how the American Civil War influenced Karl Marx and changed the meaning of revolution, and particularly the American Revolution of 1861–1877. Through their observations and analyses of the Civil War, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels developed a recognizably Marxist understanding of revolutionary politics and the Marxism of the three volumes of Capital. Marx's observations of the American struggle over slavery contributed to his theory of surplus value, which he developed for the International Workingmen's Association (First International). This chapter first considers Marx's views about Horace Greeley's American socialism and Henry Carey's harmony of interests doctrine before exploring how the Civil War and Marxism developed in tandem as components of a dynamic transnational set of revolutionary movements. It then links Marxist interpretation of the Civil War as a bourgeois revolution to the Popular Front of 1934–1939 and the communist struggle against fascism.Less
This chapter examines how the American Civil War influenced Karl Marx and changed the meaning of revolution, and particularly the American Revolution of 1861–1877. Through their observations and analyses of the Civil War, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels developed a recognizably Marxist understanding of revolutionary politics and the Marxism of the three volumes of Capital. Marx's observations of the American struggle over slavery contributed to his theory of surplus value, which he developed for the International Workingmen's Association (First International). This chapter first considers Marx's views about Horace Greeley's American socialism and Henry Carey's harmony of interests doctrine before exploring how the Civil War and Marxism developed in tandem as components of a dynamic transnational set of revolutionary movements. It then links Marxist interpretation of the Civil War as a bourgeois revolution to the Popular Front of 1934–1939 and the communist struggle against fascism.
David Miller
- Published in print:
- 1990
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198278641
- eISBN:
- 9780191599903
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198278640.003.0009
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Socialists have attacked market economies on the grounds that they create personal relationships that are alienating rather than communal. Taking Marx's theory of alienation as its main point of ...
More
Socialists have attacked market economies on the grounds that they create personal relationships that are alienating rather than communal. Taking Marx's theory of alienation as its main point of reference, the chapter explores various possible sources of alienation, isolating those that are specific to the market. However, Marx also praised capitalism for freeing individuals from the social engulfment they had experienced in pre‐capitalist societies. The challenge for those who follow him is to show how individuality can be preserved in a communist society. In market socialism, economic relations can take on a double character—instrumental, competitive, and spontaneous at one level, ‘human’, co‐operative, and planned at the second—and thus overcome alienation.Less
Socialists have attacked market economies on the grounds that they create personal relationships that are alienating rather than communal. Taking Marx's theory of alienation as its main point of reference, the chapter explores various possible sources of alienation, isolating those that are specific to the market. However, Marx also praised capitalism for freeing individuals from the social engulfment they had experienced in pre‐capitalist societies. The challenge for those who follow him is to show how individuality can be preserved in a communist society. In market socialism, economic relations can take on a double character—instrumental, competitive, and spontaneous at one level, ‘human’, co‐operative, and planned at the second—and thus overcome alienation.
Hugh Grady
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198130048
- eISBN:
- 9780191671906
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198130048.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, Shakespeare Studies
William Shakespeare was neither a Royalist defender of order and hierarchy nor a consistently radical champion of social equality, but rather simultaneously radical ...
More
William Shakespeare was neither a Royalist defender of order and hierarchy nor a consistently radical champion of social equality, but rather simultaneously radical and conservative as a critic of emerging forms of modernity. This book argues that Shakespeare's social criticism in fact often parallels that of critics of modernity from our own Postmodernist era: that the broad analysis of modernity produced by Karl Marx, Max Horkheimer, Theodor W. Adorno, Michel Foucault, and others can serve as a productive enabling representation and critique of the emerging modernity represented by the image in Troilus and Cressida of ‘an universal wolf’ of appetite, power, and will. The readings in this book demonstrate Shakespeare's keen interest in what twentieth-century theory has called ‘reification’ — a term that designates social systems created by human societies, but that confronts those societies as operating beyond human control, according to an autonomous ‘systems’ logic — in nascent mercantile capitalism, in power-oriented Machiavellian politics, and in the scientistic, value-free rationality which Horkheimer and Adorno call ‘instrumental reason’.Less
William Shakespeare was neither a Royalist defender of order and hierarchy nor a consistently radical champion of social equality, but rather simultaneously radical and conservative as a critic of emerging forms of modernity. This book argues that Shakespeare's social criticism in fact often parallels that of critics of modernity from our own Postmodernist era: that the broad analysis of modernity produced by Karl Marx, Max Horkheimer, Theodor W. Adorno, Michel Foucault, and others can serve as a productive enabling representation and critique of the emerging modernity represented by the image in Troilus and Cressida of ‘an universal wolf’ of appetite, power, and will. The readings in this book demonstrate Shakespeare's keen interest in what twentieth-century theory has called ‘reification’ — a term that designates social systems created by human societies, but that confronts those societies as operating beyond human control, according to an autonomous ‘systems’ logic — in nascent mercantile capitalism, in power-oriented Machiavellian politics, and in the scientistic, value-free rationality which Horkheimer and Adorno call ‘instrumental reason’.
Roman Szporluk
- Published in print:
- 1993
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195051032
- eISBN:
- 9780199854417
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195051032.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
Three years before publication of the Communist Manifesto Karl Marx began work on a critique of a movement that was gaining popularity as a challenge to capitalism—nationalism, as put forth by the ...
More
Three years before publication of the Communist Manifesto Karl Marx began work on a critique of a movement that was gaining popularity as a challenge to capitalism—nationalism, as put forth by the German economist Friedrich List. A major cultural and political force in 19th-century Europe, nationalism was to become directly involved in the conflict between capitalism and socialism, offering an appealing alternative to capitalism's New World Order—the doctrine of Free Trade—and socialism's call for a worldwide unification of the workers against the bourgeoisie. This book offers a reinterpretation of Marxism's historical development—one that recognises nationalism as the third contender on the battlefield where Marxism met capitalism. The book shows how the history of Marx and Marxism is to a great extent the story of their confrontation with nationalism before 1848. This book examines the heretofore neglected, although increasingly recognized, figure of Friedrich List, the first economist whom Marx seriously studied. The book includes a comprehensive vision of List's nationalism, a vision that constituted a historical alternative—and possible threat—to the Marxian project. Finally, this is the story of the enduring relationship between communism and nationalism that extended beyond 1848 into the 20th century, had enormous implications for Russia in 1917, and still lies at the heart of debates over the importance of allegiance to nation as opposed to social class, the choice between internationalism and national independence, and the role of communism in developing countries.Less
Three years before publication of the Communist Manifesto Karl Marx began work on a critique of a movement that was gaining popularity as a challenge to capitalism—nationalism, as put forth by the German economist Friedrich List. A major cultural and political force in 19th-century Europe, nationalism was to become directly involved in the conflict between capitalism and socialism, offering an appealing alternative to capitalism's New World Order—the doctrine of Free Trade—and socialism's call for a worldwide unification of the workers against the bourgeoisie. This book offers a reinterpretation of Marxism's historical development—one that recognises nationalism as the third contender on the battlefield where Marxism met capitalism. The book shows how the history of Marx and Marxism is to a great extent the story of their confrontation with nationalism before 1848. This book examines the heretofore neglected, although increasingly recognized, figure of Friedrich List, the first economist whom Marx seriously studied. The book includes a comprehensive vision of List's nationalism, a vision that constituted a historical alternative—and possible threat—to the Marxian project. Finally, this is the story of the enduring relationship between communism and nationalism that extended beyond 1848 into the 20th century, had enormous implications for Russia in 1917, and still lies at the heart of debates over the importance of allegiance to nation as opposed to social class, the choice between internationalism and national independence, and the role of communism in developing countries.
Jay Geller
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780823233618
- eISBN:
- 9780823241781
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fordham/9780823233618.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter demonstrates how the role of Judentum in Karl Marx's work cannot be limited to its few explicit discussions such as in “On the Jewish Question.” Though Marx did not self-identify as a ...
More
This chapter demonstrates how the role of Judentum in Karl Marx's work cannot be limited to its few explicit discussions such as in “On the Jewish Question.” Though Marx did not self-identify as a Jew, he was regularly confronted by others who, often venomously, identified him as a Jew. By charting Marx's rhetoric, his use of such Jewish-associated morphemes as “Lump-” (rag, rogue) and “Verkehr-” (intercourse, inverted [verkehrt-]), this chapter analyzes how they may have provided the means by which he not only rendered the theories of his rivals (esp. Max Stirner) ludicrous, but, more significantly, also worked out his understanding of capitalism. In addition to analyses of The German Ideology, The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte (on the Lumpenproletariat), Capital, and other writings, the chapter situates Marx within a society of endemic anti-Jewish polemic in which Jews were perceived as extensively involved in crime, finance, and various rag trades.Less
This chapter demonstrates how the role of Judentum in Karl Marx's work cannot be limited to its few explicit discussions such as in “On the Jewish Question.” Though Marx did not self-identify as a Jew, he was regularly confronted by others who, often venomously, identified him as a Jew. By charting Marx's rhetoric, his use of such Jewish-associated morphemes as “Lump-” (rag, rogue) and “Verkehr-” (intercourse, inverted [verkehrt-]), this chapter analyzes how they may have provided the means by which he not only rendered the theories of his rivals (esp. Max Stirner) ludicrous, but, more significantly, also worked out his understanding of capitalism. In addition to analyses of The German Ideology, The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte (on the Lumpenproletariat), Capital, and other writings, the chapter situates Marx within a society of endemic anti-Jewish polemic in which Jews were perceived as extensively involved in crime, finance, and various rag trades.
Philip J. Kain
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198239321
- eISBN:
- 9780191679896
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198239321.003.0005
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
Karl Marx's doctrine of historical materialism, as developed in the German Ideology, led to the implication that morality was ideological illusion, an implication that at least before 1853 Marx fully ...
More
Karl Marx's doctrine of historical materialism, as developed in the German Ideology, led to the implication that morality was ideological illusion, an implication that at least before 1853 Marx fully accepted and even embraced. This chapter argues that Marx does not continue to embrace this implication, and that he probably began to struggle against it as early as 1853 in his discussion of British rule in India. In grappling with the complexities of his doctrine of historical materialism and in qualifying it, Marx transforms his moral views. There is a good deal of evidence in Marx's later writings (1857–1883) to suggest that he no longer thinks of morality as ideological illusion destined to disappear in communist society. Moreover, Marx begins to shift away from the view that consciousness is as strictly determined as he had previously claimed.Less
Karl Marx's doctrine of historical materialism, as developed in the German Ideology, led to the implication that morality was ideological illusion, an implication that at least before 1853 Marx fully accepted and even embraced. This chapter argues that Marx does not continue to embrace this implication, and that he probably began to struggle against it as early as 1853 in his discussion of British rule in India. In grappling with the complexities of his doctrine of historical materialism and in qualifying it, Marx transforms his moral views. There is a good deal of evidence in Marx's later writings (1857–1883) to suggest that he no longer thinks of morality as ideological illusion destined to disappear in communist society. Moreover, Marx begins to shift away from the view that consciousness is as strictly determined as he had previously claimed.
Robert Wokler and Christopher Brooke
Bryan Garsten (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691147888
- eISBN:
- 9781400842407
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691147888.003.0012
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Political Philosophy
The political theories of Rousseau and Marx arouse stronger feelings than do most doctrines, and they have exercised a greater influence on the course of social revolutions than have the ideas of any ...
More
The political theories of Rousseau and Marx arouse stronger feelings than do most doctrines, and they have exercised a greater influence on the course of social revolutions than have the ideas of any other modern writers. But while each continues to attract widespread interest, they are seldom compared with one another. This chapter contrasts the doctrines of Rousseau and Marx. It argues that elements of Rousseau's philosophy of culture, together with his conception of property embrace a wider spectrum of human activities than Marx allowed to be of central significance. It stresses the greater scope of Rousseau's vision of our civilization's decline as compared with Marx's account of the factors which shape our historical epochs. The discussion then turns to the place of moral values in their doctrines.Less
The political theories of Rousseau and Marx arouse stronger feelings than do most doctrines, and they have exercised a greater influence on the course of social revolutions than have the ideas of any other modern writers. But while each continues to attract widespread interest, they are seldom compared with one another. This chapter contrasts the doctrines of Rousseau and Marx. It argues that elements of Rousseau's philosophy of culture, together with his conception of property embrace a wider spectrum of human activities than Marx allowed to be of central significance. It stresses the greater scope of Rousseau's vision of our civilization's decline as compared with Marx's account of the factors which shape our historical epochs. The discussion then turns to the place of moral values in their doctrines.
Erica Benner
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198279594
- eISBN:
- 9780191598791
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198279590.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
It is widely thought that Marx and Engels lacked a coherent understanding of nationalism. With the collapse of communist regimes and the resurgence of national and ethnic conflicts after the Cold ...
More
It is widely thought that Marx and Engels lacked a coherent understanding of nationalism. With the collapse of communist regimes and the resurgence of national and ethnic conflicts after the Cold War, the belief has spread that all forms of ‘Marxist’ thought – starting with that of its founders – were doomed by their insensitivity to national claims. This book questions these assumptions. Rejecting the tendency to read what Marx and Engels wrote through the prism of later events, it situates their writings on national issues in their original nineteenth‐century context. A close, contextual re‐reading of their writings shows that the two men had a far more perceptive understanding of national identity and conflict than is usually supposed. Their rigorously anti‐idealist approach was not the by‐product of a dogmatic ‘materialist’ or class‐centred theory, but a deliberate reaction against the rise of romantic and ethnocentric nationalism in their native Germany and beyond. By comparison with contemporaries such as Mazzini or John Stuart Mill, Marx and Engels had a clear grasp of nationalism's ethical ambivalence, particularly in the context of international relations. They recognised that although many national movements had liberating aims, they also had the potential to become a new cause of war, and thus to set back the reforms supported by liberals and republicans as well as communists. These elements of their thinking can be developed to criticize present‐day accounts that exaggerate the independent force of nationalism in history or contemporary politics. One need not be a ‘Marxist’ to appreciate the continuing relevance of such ideas.Less
It is widely thought that Marx and Engels lacked a coherent understanding of nationalism. With the collapse of communist regimes and the resurgence of national and ethnic conflicts after the Cold War, the belief has spread that all forms of ‘Marxist’ thought – starting with that of its founders – were doomed by their insensitivity to national claims. This book questions these assumptions. Rejecting the tendency to read what Marx and Engels wrote through the prism of later events, it situates their writings on national issues in their original nineteenth‐century context. A close, contextual re‐reading of their writings shows that the two men had a far more perceptive understanding of national identity and conflict than is usually supposed. Their rigorously anti‐idealist approach was not the by‐product of a dogmatic ‘materialist’ or class‐centred theory, but a deliberate reaction against the rise of romantic and ethnocentric nationalism in their native Germany and beyond. By comparison with contemporaries such as Mazzini or John Stuart Mill, Marx and Engels had a clear grasp of nationalism's ethical ambivalence, particularly in the context of international relations. They recognised that although many national movements had liberating aims, they also had the potential to become a new cause of war, and thus to set back the reforms supported by liberals and republicans as well as communists. These elements of their thinking can be developed to criticize present‐day accounts that exaggerate the independent force of nationalism in history or contemporary politics. One need not be a ‘Marxist’ to appreciate the continuing relevance of such ideas.
John Hatcher and Mark Bailey
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199244119
- eISBN:
- 9780191697333
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199244119.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History, Economic History
Most of what has been written on the economy of the Middle Ages is deeply influenced by abstract concepts and theories. The most powerful and popular of these guiding beliefs are derived from ...
More
Most of what has been written on the economy of the Middle Ages is deeply influenced by abstract concepts and theories. The most powerful and popular of these guiding beliefs are derived from intellectual foundations laid down in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by Adam Smith, Johan von Thünen, Thomas Malthus, David Ricardo, and Karl Marx. In the hands of twentieth-century historians and social scientists these venerable ideas have been moulded into three grand explanatory ideas that continue to dominate interpretations of economic development. These trumpet in turn the claims of ‘commercialisation’, ‘population and resources’, or ‘class power and property relations’ as the prime movers of historical change. This book examines the structure and tests the validity of these conflicting models from a variety of perspectives. In the course of their investigations the authors provide not only detailed reconstructions of the economic history of England in the Middle Ages and sustained critical commentaries on the work of leading historians, but also discussions of the philosophy and methods of history and the social sciences. The result is an introduction to medieval economic history, a critique of established models, and a treatise on historiographical method.Less
Most of what has been written on the economy of the Middle Ages is deeply influenced by abstract concepts and theories. The most powerful and popular of these guiding beliefs are derived from intellectual foundations laid down in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by Adam Smith, Johan von Thünen, Thomas Malthus, David Ricardo, and Karl Marx. In the hands of twentieth-century historians and social scientists these venerable ideas have been moulded into three grand explanatory ideas that continue to dominate interpretations of economic development. These trumpet in turn the claims of ‘commercialisation’, ‘population and resources’, or ‘class power and property relations’ as the prime movers of historical change. This book examines the structure and tests the validity of these conflicting models from a variety of perspectives. In the course of their investigations the authors provide not only detailed reconstructions of the economic history of England in the Middle Ages and sustained critical commentaries on the work of leading historians, but also discussions of the philosophy and methods of history and the social sciences. The result is an introduction to medieval economic history, a critique of established models, and a treatise on historiographical method.
David Miller
- Published in print:
- 1990
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198278641
- eISBN:
- 9780191599903
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198278640.003.0010
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
The radical socialist vision of community associated with thinkers such as Marx, Morris, and Kropotkin sees it as unitary, egalitarian, and all‐embracing. Although this vision is flawed, socialists ...
More
The radical socialist vision of community associated with thinkers such as Marx, Morris, and Kropotkin sees it as unitary, egalitarian, and all‐embracing. Although this vision is flawed, socialists must hold on to the idea of an encompassing community, since they must rely on it to achieve their other goals, including justice. In practice, this means embracing nationality as the form of community relevant to modern societies, and (active) citizenship as the practice that prevents national identities from becoming merely traditional. Although national identities are ‘imagined’ and typically contain elements of myth, they can be defended in terms of the functions they serve.Less
The radical socialist vision of community associated with thinkers such as Marx, Morris, and Kropotkin sees it as unitary, egalitarian, and all‐embracing. Although this vision is flawed, socialists must hold on to the idea of an encompassing community, since they must rely on it to achieve their other goals, including justice. In practice, this means embracing nationality as the form of community relevant to modern societies, and (active) citizenship as the practice that prevents national identities from becoming merely traditional. Although national identities are ‘imagined’ and typically contain elements of myth, they can be defended in terms of the functions they serve.
G. A. Cohen
Michael Otsuka (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691148809
- eISBN:
- 9781400845323
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691148809.003.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Political Philosophy
This chapter compares and contrasts between the perspectives of the author (G. A. Cohen) and of his mentor, Isaiah Berlin, on the thought of Karl Marx. The discussion is intertwined with the author's ...
More
This chapter compares and contrasts between the perspectives of the author (G. A. Cohen) and of his mentor, Isaiah Berlin, on the thought of Karl Marx. The discussion is intertwined with the author's personal experiences and impressions of Berlin, as well as the former's own struggles to better understand Marx. For the author, nothing was more fundamental to Marx's motivation than his perception of the misery which the capitalism of his day imposed upon the working class. In this way Cohen disagrees with Berlin's own view of the relationship in Marx's thought between the march of history and the cause of the proletariat.Less
This chapter compares and contrasts between the perspectives of the author (G. A. Cohen) and of his mentor, Isaiah Berlin, on the thought of Karl Marx. The discussion is intertwined with the author's personal experiences and impressions of Berlin, as well as the former's own struggles to better understand Marx. For the author, nothing was more fundamental to Marx's motivation than his perception of the misery which the capitalism of his day imposed upon the working class. In this way Cohen disagrees with Berlin's own view of the relationship in Marx's thought between the march of history and the cause of the proletariat.
G. A. Cohen
Jonathan Wolff (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691149004
- eISBN:
- 9781400848713
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691149004.003.0008
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
This chapter explores the question of the nature of the alienation of the bourgeoisie under capitalism. In particular, it considers the distinction made by Karl Marx in The Holy Family between the ...
More
This chapter explores the question of the nature of the alienation of the bourgeoisie under capitalism. In particular, it considers the distinction made by Karl Marx in The Holy Family between the alienation endured by the worker and the alienation endured by the capitalist in bourgeois society. According to Marx: “The possessing classes and the class of the proletariat present pictures of the same human self-estrangement. But the former class feels at home in and confirmed by this self-estrangement.” The chapter analyzes the meaning of this passage by focusing on a characterization of the human essence in The German Ideology and on the doctrine of alienation articulated in the Paris Manuscripts. It also discusses the worker's alienation in his relation to the machine, and the capitalist's alienation in his relation to money, as well as the latter's relation to his capital. Finally, it restates the contrast between bourgeois and proletarian.Less
This chapter explores the question of the nature of the alienation of the bourgeoisie under capitalism. In particular, it considers the distinction made by Karl Marx in The Holy Family between the alienation endured by the worker and the alienation endured by the capitalist in bourgeois society. According to Marx: “The possessing classes and the class of the proletariat present pictures of the same human self-estrangement. But the former class feels at home in and confirmed by this self-estrangement.” The chapter analyzes the meaning of this passage by focusing on a characterization of the human essence in The German Ideology and on the doctrine of alienation articulated in the Paris Manuscripts. It also discusses the worker's alienation in his relation to the machine, and the capitalist's alienation in his relation to money, as well as the latter's relation to his capital. Finally, it restates the contrast between bourgeois and proletarian.
Chris Baldick
- Published in print:
- 1990
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198122494
- eISBN:
- 9780191671432
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198122494.003.0006
- Subject:
- Literature, 19th-century and Victorian Literature
The most vivid representation of the bourgeoisie's doomed state of possession by irresistible forces is to be found in Karl Marx's repeated images of capital as a vampire. After Friedrich Engels had ...
More
The most vivid representation of the bourgeoisie's doomed state of possession by irresistible forces is to be found in Karl Marx's repeated images of capital as a vampire. After Friedrich Engels had referred to ‘the vampire property-holding class’ in The Condition of the Working Class in England, Marx adopted the image, developing the apparently gratuitous insult into a consistent element of his gothicized portrayal of the bourgeoisie's compulsive condition. Again, it is the inherent restlessness of the bourgeoisie, as the first great revolutionary class in history, which condemns it to a thirst that can never be quenched. The particular aptness of the vampire image is implied by Marx's term ‘living labour’, which contrasts with the dead (or ‘accumulated’) labour embodied in machinery and raw materials—in short, in capital itself, which thus appears as the rule of the dead over the living.Less
The most vivid representation of the bourgeoisie's doomed state of possession by irresistible forces is to be found in Karl Marx's repeated images of capital as a vampire. After Friedrich Engels had referred to ‘the vampire property-holding class’ in The Condition of the Working Class in England, Marx adopted the image, developing the apparently gratuitous insult into a consistent element of his gothicized portrayal of the bourgeoisie's compulsive condition. Again, it is the inherent restlessness of the bourgeoisie, as the first great revolutionary class in history, which condemns it to a thirst that can never be quenched. The particular aptness of the vampire image is implied by Marx's term ‘living labour’, which contrasts with the dead (or ‘accumulated’) labour embodied in machinery and raw materials—in short, in capital itself, which thus appears as the rule of the dead over the living.
Keith Tribe
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- March 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780190211615
- eISBN:
- 9780190211646
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190211615.003.0006
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Economic History
This chapter reconstructs Marx’s first encounter with political economy in early 1844, using his early notebooks as evidence of what he read, and what he made of what he read. It is shown that since ...
More
This chapter reconstructs Marx’s first encounter with political economy in early 1844, using his early notebooks as evidence of what he read, and what he made of what he read. It is shown that since Marx was in Paris from late 1843 to early 1845, his early reading of political economy was in the context of French political economy, and the reception of English political economy by French socialists. Prominent among these was Proudhon, and it was his confrontation with Proudhon that led to his writing his first work of political economy, Poverty of Philosophy, a critique of Proudhon. It is then shown how the ideas he first developed in this work helped shape his 1867 Capital Vol. I.Less
This chapter reconstructs Marx’s first encounter with political economy in early 1844, using his early notebooks as evidence of what he read, and what he made of what he read. It is shown that since Marx was in Paris from late 1843 to early 1845, his early reading of political economy was in the context of French political economy, and the reception of English political economy by French socialists. Prominent among these was Proudhon, and it was his confrontation with Proudhon that led to his writing his first work of political economy, Poverty of Philosophy, a critique of Proudhon. It is then shown how the ideas he first developed in this work helped shape his 1867 Capital Vol. I.
Roman Szporluk
- Published in print:
- 1993
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195051032
- eISBN:
- 9780199854417
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195051032.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
The “List Critique” is the most explicit work Karl Marx wrote on nationalism. This work actually remained unknown until it appeared in a Soviet historical journal in 1971, long after he died. ...
More
The “List Critique” is the most explicit work Karl Marx wrote on nationalism. This work actually remained unknown until it appeared in a Soviet historical journal in 1971, long after he died. Conventional Marxian scholarship has tackled Marx's stand on nation and nationalism, however problems still remain despite its wide acceptance. In Marx's view, modern society consisted of two classes: the capitalists and the industrial workers. The theories and practices plus the Industrial Revolution all added to one process and that was the rise of capitalism. Meanwhile, the doctrine of the list was a contrast to everything that was taking place in society. The list called for the unification of all classes of a nation against other nations. Friedrich Meinecke pointed out the wave of nationalism while Marxism postulated the formation of the proletariat as a force that transcended national identities. Thus, Marxism viewed nationalism as the enemy.Less
The “List Critique” is the most explicit work Karl Marx wrote on nationalism. This work actually remained unknown until it appeared in a Soviet historical journal in 1971, long after he died. Conventional Marxian scholarship has tackled Marx's stand on nation and nationalism, however problems still remain despite its wide acceptance. In Marx's view, modern society consisted of two classes: the capitalists and the industrial workers. The theories and practices plus the Industrial Revolution all added to one process and that was the rise of capitalism. Meanwhile, the doctrine of the list was a contrast to everything that was taking place in society. The list called for the unification of all classes of a nation against other nations. Friedrich Meinecke pointed out the wave of nationalism while Marxism postulated the formation of the proletariat as a force that transcended national identities. Thus, Marxism viewed nationalism as the enemy.
Roman Szporluk
- Published in print:
- 1993
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195051032
- eISBN:
- 9780199854417
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195051032.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
The chapter discusses Marx's synthesis of history, politics, and the future that is The Communist Manifesto. This book confronts the question of the relationship between nationalism and communism. In ...
More
The chapter discusses Marx's synthesis of history, politics, and the future that is The Communist Manifesto. This book confronts the question of the relationship between nationalism and communism. In order to understand the Big Book, one has to know that Karl Marx no longer saw the need to construct a system to support his program. The principles of communism in the Manifesto were not invented. It actually sprung from the struggles of the existing class. It shows the framework of Marx's position on the nation. It is an “antinationalist manifesto”. The prospect of a national alliance was unthinkable. Two main points were brought out: firstly, Marx was not alone in his stand that Europe was in a state of crisis and secondly, Marx's contemporaries shared his myopia about nationalism. In fact, nationalism was already changing the social reality. Though at that time, not even the most influential 19th-century thinkers recognized its force.Less
The chapter discusses Marx's synthesis of history, politics, and the future that is The Communist Manifesto. This book confronts the question of the relationship between nationalism and communism. In order to understand the Big Book, one has to know that Karl Marx no longer saw the need to construct a system to support his program. The principles of communism in the Manifesto were not invented. It actually sprung from the struggles of the existing class. It shows the framework of Marx's position on the nation. It is an “antinationalist manifesto”. The prospect of a national alliance was unthinkable. Two main points were brought out: firstly, Marx was not alone in his stand that Europe was in a state of crisis and secondly, Marx's contemporaries shared his myopia about nationalism. In fact, nationalism was already changing the social reality. Though at that time, not even the most influential 19th-century thinkers recognized its force.
Ted McCormick
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199547890
- eISBN:
- 9780191720529
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199547890.003.0011
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History, Economic History
This brief epilogue considers perhaps the most important episode in Petty's posthumous subsumption into the disciplinary history of economics, which remains the chief basis of his fame today: his ...
More
This brief epilogue considers perhaps the most important episode in Petty's posthumous subsumption into the disciplinary history of economics, which remains the chief basis of his fame today: his resurrection as the ‘founder’ of classical political economy at the hands of Karl Marx. Looking both at Marx's treatment of Petty in print and at his correspondence with Friedrich Engels and others, it notes striking parallels and ironic dissonances between Marx's and Petty's comments on Anglo‐–Irish relations — a pressing matter in the late nineteenth century, as two centuries before. It argues that Marx's attention to the historical contingency of Petty's work paradoxically initiated a tradition of reading Petty for his ‘contributions' to classical economic theory, a tradition that has continued to the present day.Less
This brief epilogue considers perhaps the most important episode in Petty's posthumous subsumption into the disciplinary history of economics, which remains the chief basis of his fame today: his resurrection as the ‘founder’ of classical political economy at the hands of Karl Marx. Looking both at Marx's treatment of Petty in print and at his correspondence with Friedrich Engels and others, it notes striking parallels and ironic dissonances between Marx's and Petty's comments on Anglo‐–Irish relations — a pressing matter in the late nineteenth century, as two centuries before. It argues that Marx's attention to the historical contingency of Petty's work paradoxically initiated a tradition of reading Petty for his ‘contributions' to classical economic theory, a tradition that has continued to the present day.
