Gareth Stedman Jones
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197264034
- eISBN:
- 9780191734601
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264034.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, Historiography
This chapter examines the aim of Marx's theory and whether he succeeded in establishing what he was set out to prove. In 1883, at the graveside of Marx, Engels wrote of Marx's achievement as the ...
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This chapter examines the aim of Marx's theory and whether he succeeded in establishing what he was set out to prove. In 1883, at the graveside of Marx, Engels wrote of Marx's achievement as the discovery of ‘laws’ of history. Engel's depiction of Marx has been followed by Marx's disciples and opponents. After the First World War, Marx's writings were subjected to distorted views and interpretations that turned Marx into a remote and opaque figure. In the 1950s, attempts to capture the true thoughts of Marx were made. These attempts disclosed his difficulty in applying a socially determinist approach to the explanation of the republicanism and the constitutional character of the struggle between the elected president and the elected assembly. His basic assumption of the ‘forces of production’ as a means for the proletariat to advance and the bourgeoisie to rescind failed to interpret the transition from Second Empire to Third Republic. Forced to abandon this evolutionary scenario of capitalist development, Marx developed his Critique of Political Economy, wherein his prime objective was not to construct a theory of history, but to discover the path of man to communism.Less
This chapter examines the aim of Marx's theory and whether he succeeded in establishing what he was set out to prove. In 1883, at the graveside of Marx, Engels wrote of Marx's achievement as the discovery of ‘laws’ of history. Engel's depiction of Marx has been followed by Marx's disciples and opponents. After the First World War, Marx's writings were subjected to distorted views and interpretations that turned Marx into a remote and opaque figure. In the 1950s, attempts to capture the true thoughts of Marx were made. These attempts disclosed his difficulty in applying a socially determinist approach to the explanation of the republicanism and the constitutional character of the struggle between the elected president and the elected assembly. His basic assumption of the ‘forces of production’ as a means for the proletariat to advance and the bourgeoisie to rescind failed to interpret the transition from Second Empire to Third Republic. Forced to abandon this evolutionary scenario of capitalist development, Marx developed his Critique of Political Economy, wherein his prime objective was not to construct a theory of history, but to discover the path of man to communism.
Andreas Glaeser
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- February 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226297934
- eISBN:
- 9780226297958
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226297958.003.0002
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Theory
Socialism is very sensitive to ideological disturbances. The bracket that keeps the whole thing together is ideology, and if this bracket is weakened the whole system falls apart. To get a better ...
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Socialism is very sensitive to ideological disturbances. The bracket that keeps the whole thing together is ideology, and if this bracket is weakened the whole system falls apart. To get a better sense about divergences and congruencies between Marx's theory and Eastern European socialist practice, this chapter recapitulates briefly what Marx had to say about the relationship between understandings and other kinds of institutions. Marx aims to show throughout his work how scientific theoretical-historical analysis can provide a road map for the actions of the labor movement. Marx tries to provide ananalytics that helps the labor movement to decide which battles to fight and which ones to avoid in any concrete moment—including the determination of the right moment for revolutionary action. Marxist thinkers continued to develop further the idea that sound theory must inform the struggle of the labor movement. The relationship between theory and revolutionary practice in the form of poignant analysis of the present and their consequences for the revolutionary struggle was what writing in the tradition of Marx was centrally concerned with.Less
Socialism is very sensitive to ideological disturbances. The bracket that keeps the whole thing together is ideology, and if this bracket is weakened the whole system falls apart. To get a better sense about divergences and congruencies between Marx's theory and Eastern European socialist practice, this chapter recapitulates briefly what Marx had to say about the relationship between understandings and other kinds of institutions. Marx aims to show throughout his work how scientific theoretical-historical analysis can provide a road map for the actions of the labor movement. Marx tries to provide ananalytics that helps the labor movement to decide which battles to fight and which ones to avoid in any concrete moment—including the determination of the right moment for revolutionary action. Marxist thinkers continued to develop further the idea that sound theory must inform the struggle of the labor movement. The relationship between theory and revolutionary practice in the form of poignant analysis of the present and their consequences for the revolutionary struggle was what writing in the tradition of Marx was centrally concerned with.
Gianni Vattimo and Santiago Zabala
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780231158039
- eISBN:
- 9780231528078
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231158039.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Political Philosophy
Having lost much of its political clout and theoretical power, communism no longer represents an appealing alternative to capitalism. In its original Marxist formulation, communism promised an ideal ...
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Having lost much of its political clout and theoretical power, communism no longer represents an appealing alternative to capitalism. In its original Marxist formulation, communism promised an ideal of development, but only through a logic of war, and while a number of reformist governments still promote this ideology, their legitimacy has steadily declined since the fall of the Berlin wall. Separating communism from its metaphysical foundations, which include an abiding faith in the immutable laws of history and an almost holy conception of the proletariat, this text recasts Marx's theories at a time when capitalism's metaphysical moorings—in technology, empire, and industrialization—are buckling. While Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri call for a return of the revolutionary left, this text expresses a fear that this would lead only to more violence and failed political policy. Instead, it adopts an antifoundationalist stance drawn from the hermeneutic thought of Martin Heidegger, Jacques Derrida, and Richard Rorty. Hermeneutic communism leaves aside the ideal of development and the general call for revolution; it relies on interpretation rather than truth and proves more flexible in different contexts. Hermeneutic communism motivates a resistance to capitalism's inequalities yet intervenes against violence.Less
Having lost much of its political clout and theoretical power, communism no longer represents an appealing alternative to capitalism. In its original Marxist formulation, communism promised an ideal of development, but only through a logic of war, and while a number of reformist governments still promote this ideology, their legitimacy has steadily declined since the fall of the Berlin wall. Separating communism from its metaphysical foundations, which include an abiding faith in the immutable laws of history and an almost holy conception of the proletariat, this text recasts Marx's theories at a time when capitalism's metaphysical moorings—in technology, empire, and industrialization—are buckling. While Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri call for a return of the revolutionary left, this text expresses a fear that this would lead only to more violence and failed political policy. Instead, it adopts an antifoundationalist stance drawn from the hermeneutic thought of Martin Heidegger, Jacques Derrida, and Richard Rorty. Hermeneutic communism leaves aside the ideal of development and the general call for revolution; it relies on interpretation rather than truth and proves more flexible in different contexts. Hermeneutic communism motivates a resistance to capitalism's inequalities yet intervenes against violence.
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226446998
- eISBN:
- 9780226447018
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226447018.003.0013
- Subject:
- History, American History: 19th Century
The economic depression of the late 1880s hit Chicago hard. Jane Addams was suffering from divided loyalties. The daughter of a successful capitalist, the inheritor of his wealth, and a believer in ...
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The economic depression of the late 1880s hit Chicago hard. Jane Addams was suffering from divided loyalties. The daughter of a successful capitalist, the inheritor of his wealth, and a believer in Emersonian self-reliance, she was also a social Christian, a cooperator, and an antimaterialist, as well as a tentative supporter of labor unions and a friend of socialists, most notably of Florence Kelley. Complicating her dilemma was her essential lack of interest in economic matters. She had read Marx, to be sure, but she had never really applied her good mind to the subject. Addams seriously considered embracing Marxist socialism. She wanted to be a Marxist partly because of a feeling of human fellowship, a desire to be cooperative. “I should have been glad to have had the comradeship of that gallant company” of socialists, she writes. But she did not become one. She could not accept Marx's theory that “commercial crises” were caused by the willingness of capitalist class (“the bourgeoisie”) to pursue overproduction.Less
The economic depression of the late 1880s hit Chicago hard. Jane Addams was suffering from divided loyalties. The daughter of a successful capitalist, the inheritor of his wealth, and a believer in Emersonian self-reliance, she was also a social Christian, a cooperator, and an antimaterialist, as well as a tentative supporter of labor unions and a friend of socialists, most notably of Florence Kelley. Complicating her dilemma was her essential lack of interest in economic matters. She had read Marx, to be sure, but she had never really applied her good mind to the subject. Addams seriously considered embracing Marxist socialism. She wanted to be a Marxist partly because of a feeling of human fellowship, a desire to be cooperative. “I should have been glad to have had the comradeship of that gallant company” of socialists, she writes. But she did not become one. She could not accept Marx's theory that “commercial crises” were caused by the willingness of capitalist class (“the bourgeoisie”) to pursue overproduction.
Barbara L. Solow
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780719078804
- eISBN:
- 9781781707944
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719078804.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
This chapter presents Barbara Solow's reflections on The Land Question and the Irish Economy 1870-1903. The intellectual context in which the book came to be researched and written is outlined. ...
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This chapter presents Barbara Solow's reflections on The Land Question and the Irish Economy 1870-1903. The intellectual context in which the book came to be researched and written is outlined. Barbara Solow suggests that, notwithstanding considerable technological advances and the accumulation of new research in the meantime, the basic thesis of her book remains essentially correct. She does suggest, however, that if she were to rewrite the book today she would put the Irish story in a broader context, both conceptually and historically. Only after the book had appeared did it become apparent that it may be seen as a case study of Marx's theory of primitive accumulation. A case is made for the relevance of Jon S. Cohen and Martin L. Weitzman's account of what happens when common rights are converted to private property.Less
This chapter presents Barbara Solow's reflections on The Land Question and the Irish Economy 1870-1903. The intellectual context in which the book came to be researched and written is outlined. Barbara Solow suggests that, notwithstanding considerable technological advances and the accumulation of new research in the meantime, the basic thesis of her book remains essentially correct. She does suggest, however, that if she were to rewrite the book today she would put the Irish story in a broader context, both conceptually and historically. Only after the book had appeared did it become apparent that it may be seen as a case study of Marx's theory of primitive accumulation. A case is made for the relevance of Jon S. Cohen and Martin L. Weitzman's account of what happens when common rights are converted to private property.
