Individualismo y marxismo. Marx visto por Elster

In: Revista mexicana de ciencias políticas y sociales, Band 33, Heft 127, S. 141-149

Abstract

The rejection of so-called "methodological individualism" has always been part of the theoretical tradition of historical materialism. From Karl Marx to contemporary works within this theoretical perspective, the points of departure for explaining historico-social phenomena are collective phenomena, which always have priority over individual phenomena. Here, the position of Jon Elster on methodological individualism is presented. Elster is a Norwegian philosopher whose works encompass a variety of disciplines, including analytical philosophy, political science, sociology, economic theory, & Marxism. In his most recent book (Making Sense of Marx, London/Paris: Cambridge U Press/Editions de la Maison des Sciences de l'Homme, 1985), Elster maintains that methodological individualism underlies most of Marx's works, & he defends this methodology by an adequate analysis of social phenomena. Some of the assumptions of methodological individualism that are problematic for the construction of a social theory are pointed out, along with a certain ambiguity in Elster's thesis. Author Summary Tr & Modified by C. Waters