Collectives, Classes and Revolutionary Potential in Marx

Abstract

Argues that the embrace of rational choice theory by analytical Marxists has allowed them to speak to the issue of revolutionary motivation, but not as Karl Marx originally addressed this issue. According to analytic Marxists, revolutionary motivation is a version of the collective action problem: since collective gains are shared by all, rational individuals seek to push the costs of achieving those gains onto others. While persuasive, this account is criticized for failing to consider the role of collective vs individual agency in the creation of revolutionary consciousness. The notion of collective agency is defended against criticisms of methodological collectivism. According to Marx, proletariats will achieve revolutionary consciousness not through rational, means-ends calculations, but by aligning themselves to a collective class consciousness. This theory of revolutionary motivation is more persuasive than that proposed by analytic Marxists. 19 References. D. Ryfe