Suchergebnisse

Contends that Jacques Derrida's Specters of Marx: The State of the Debt, the Work of Mourning, and the New International (1993) is the political project of a "man of the Left." It is suggested that Derrida's Algerian background influences both his association with the antihumanism of Marxism & the institutional nature of deconstruction. Although he claims deconstruction is of no interest except as a radicalization, Derrida must know it has not functioned in any way like radicalized Marxism, but rather as an inferior kind of textual politics at a time when academic leftists needed a new form of dissent. The two sides of deconstruction -- reformist & ultraleftist -- are examined, & notions of deconstructed Marxism are compared to Marxist revisionism. It is suggested that Marxism has become more appealing to Derrida because of its marginality & the unattractiveness of political alternatives, maintaining that he is not concerned with an effective socialism, but angered by liberal-capitalist complacency. Derrida's avoidance of the real historical/theoretical manifestations of Marxism are examined, along with the critical, negative nature of his politics, & the absence of ontology or method within his "New International.". J. Lindroth

In examining Marxism & post-Marxism, the following question is presented: Did the fall of political ideology accompany the fall of communism in 1989? It is argued that Marxism as a political movement should be seen as differing from Marxism as a scientific ideology. As such, though the end of the Cold War diminished Marxism as a scientific ideology, Gramsci's viewpoints concerning Marxist ideology bring Marxism in line with liberalism. It must also be noted that Marxist regimes continue to exist in Cuba, Vietnam, North Korea, & the People's Republic of China. Finally, the divisions between Marxists & post-Marxists are eminently clear, particularly with regard to issues such as class politics & economics. This leads to the conclusion that post-Marxists have abandoned both Marxism & liberalism & have, therefore, become postideological. K. Larsen

Reconsiders the place of dialectics in Marxist philosophy, drawing on a reading of the works of Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels. It is suggested that Marx & Engels built their theory on the foundation of Hegelian dialectics because (1) they were deeply immersed in the German tradition of viewing the material universe as the product of self-differentiation that takes place through stages of growth & decay, & (2) they steadfastly believed that reality revealed itself only in a distorted manner in the material world. By applying Hegelian dialectics to social analysis, Marx produced a scientific framework in which historical proof of the eventual death of capitalism & birth of socialism & communism might be collected. Engels employed Hegelian dialectics with the somewhat more grandiose intention of developing a global worldview wherein all layers of natural & social reality might be explained according to a singular principle & set of laws. In transforming a philosophical tradition into a set of laws, Marx & Engels ultimately delegitimized an entire current of Western thought, which can only be revived if it is restored to its place as a form of philosophical speculation. 24 References. D. Ryfe

Die heutige Relevanz des Werkes von K. Marx wird kritisch betrachtet. Den Hintergrund der ideologiekritischen Erörterung bilden die zahlreichen Varianten von Marx-Interpretationen und -Rezeptionen, die sich jeweils als einzig richtige sehen. Es wird betont, daß für eine "mündige" Fortführung des Marxschen Werkes eine Befreiung der Theorie und Praxis des Sozialismus "von der Autorität und Vormundschaft der Vaterfigur Marx" notwendig ist. Eine solche Fixierung wird einerseits den Dogmatikern des Marxismus vorgeworfen, die ihn als positives Leitbild mißbrauchen, andererseits aber auch in der negativen Rezeption der "Marx-Töchter" aus der Richtung der "neuen Philosophie" festgestellt. Der Verfasser ergänzt seine psychoanalytische Warnung vor dem gebannten Blick auf die Vaterfigur Marx durch grundsätzliche Einwände gegen die Praxis des Sozialismus in der UdSSR und vergleichbaren Ländern. Deren Realität wird als diskreditierend für die Idee des Kommunismus und als schädlich für die sozialistischen Bewegungen in den westlichen Ländern eingeschätzt. (HA)

Der Beitrag stellt die neue Kapital-Lektüre dar, wie sie sich seit den 1960/70er Jahren in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland entwickelt hat. In seinem kritischen Rückblick auf die neue Marx-Lektüre arbeitet er die Unterscheidung zwischen traditionellem Marxismus, westlichem Marxismus und neuer Marx-Lektüre heraus und macht den erreichten Diskussionsstand deutlich, hinter welchen nicht zurückzufallen ist. Zugleich werden Perspektiven erkennbar, wie über diesen Stand hinauszugehen ist. Das abschließende Kapitel über marxismusinterne Lernprozesse betont, dass das Dogma der Unantastbarkeit der Darstellung der Kritik der politischen Ökonomie verworfen wurde und stattdessen die Feststellung eines komplexen Neben- und Ineinanders von Fort- und Rückschritten in Darstellungsweise und Forschungsstand der Ökonomiekritik tritt. (ICH2)

Examines the difficulty analytical Marxism has faced in overcoming the free-rider problem described by its right-wing critics. Analytical Marxism has been involved in the effort of finding microfoundations in the thoughts, beliefs, & actions of individuals for the macrophenomena that Marxism identifies. While this research program has been successful, it has been unable to explain why rational proletarian individuals might engage in a revolutionary struggle to overthrow capitalism & replace it with socialism. This problem has been described as a free-rider dilemma, in that, although the good would benefit everyone, the costs of overthrowing capitalism are high. Thus, rational individuals will seek to make others bear the costs of overthrowing capitalism while reaping the benefits of this activity. This problem is overcome by assuming that individuals respond to immediate problems & situations, rather than act rationally, weighing costs & benefits of actions. In responding to immediate concerns, proletarian individuals might find themselves working toward revolution without consciously doing so, & thus unintentionally overcoming the free-rider problem. 4 Figures, 30 References. D. Ryfe

Noting that Marxist & elite paradigms birthed competing theories on social & political change & that the differential development of these theories depends less on evidence than on ideological leanings, the epilogue to a collection of essays on postsocialist elites compares these paradigms in terms of their polarity in the 20th century. Although fading by the end of the 19th century, Marxism saw renewed vitality as it was embraced as a theoretical & ideological tool of radical & reformist leaders of the European Left. Elite theory's decline is attributed less to a lack of its plausibility than to a lack of ties to organized political forces. However, Marxism's emergence as a major global intellectual & political movement had a concomitant destructive impact on its explanatory power. By the end of the 20th century, Marxist theory comprised many dissipating streams. The decline of elite theory is delineated, noting that its tenets remained intact despite its unpopularity among activists & intellectuals. The negative effect of fascism -- ie, the dubious notion that elite theory leads to fascism -- is noted, along with the idea that a combination of socioeconomic & sociocultural factors further eclipsed elite theory's development & popularity. Latter-20th-century elite theory lacked urgency in discussions on Western democracies & non-Western developing countries. However, three trends led to the reinvigoration of elite theory: economic advances of Japan & the Asian tigers, state socialism in Eastern Europe, & the elite-driven Soviet collapse. Thus, political developments driving the revival of elite theory include the centrality of elite choices & actions guiding these changes; & the theoretical developments include the exhaustion of Marxist theory's credibility & the reformulation of elite-centered democratic theory. Five suppositions underlying the analyses of contributions are delineated. 56 References. J. Zendejas

Noting that Marxist & elite paradigms birthed competing theories on social & political change & that the differential development of these theories depends less on evidence than on ideological leanings, the epilogue to a collection of essays on postsocialist elites compares these paradigms in terms of their polarity in the 20th century. Although fading by the end of the 19th century, Marxism saw renewed vitality as it was embraced as a theoretical & ideological tool of radical & reformist leaders of the European Left. Elite theory's decline is attributed less to a lack of its plausibility than to a lack of ties to organized political forces. However, Marxism's emergence as a major global intellectual & political movement had a concomitant destructive impact on its explanatory power. By the end of the 20th century, Marxist theory comprised many dissipating streams. The decline of elite theory is delineated, noting that its tenets remained intact despite its unpopularity among activists & intellectuals. The negative effect of fascism -- ie, the dubious notion that elite theory leads to fascism -- is noted, along with the idea that a combination of socioeconomic & sociocultural factors further eclipsed elite theory's development & popularity. Latter-20th-century elite theory lacked urgency in discussions on Western democracies & non-Western developing countries. However, three trends led to the reinvigoration of elite theory: economic advances of Japan & the Asian tigers, state socialism in Eastern Europe, & the elite-driven Soviet collapse. Thus, political developments driving the revival of elite theory include the centrality of elite choices & actions guiding these changes; & the theoretical developments include the exhaustion of Marxist theory's credibility & the reformulation of elite-centered democratic theory. Five suppositions underlying the analyses of contributions are delineated. 56 References. J. Zendejas

Assesses the bankruptcy of Marxism as a philosophical & political project in Europe as a bad legacy of the Enlightenment tradition, drawing on discussion of the structure of society in the German Democratic Republic, where social relations consisted of a form of socialism that mapped a new form of absolutist feudalism onto the democratic conditions of the 20th century. The philosophical orgins of this system are traced to Marxism's effort to recreate a form of solidarity in the Industrial Age that was appropriate to the feudal period. This project proved illusory, ending in a form of artificial social engineering that bore many resonances with another bad legacy of the Enlightenment: fascism. European intellectuals contributed to the ideological veiling of this illusion by producing a complicated theoretical justification for the Marxist philosophical & political project. The Frankfurt school is identified as the only neo-Marxist effort to avoid participation in this illusory project. It is concluded that a new philosophical discussion of the dark side of the Enlightenment is necessary. D. Ryfe

Reflects on the politics of deconstruction as presented in Jacque Derrida's Specters of Marx: The State of the Debt, the Work of Mourning, and the New International (1993), arguing that his attempt to reconcile Marxism with deconstruction forsakes all familiar categories of political Marxism & bases the reunion on messianic grounds filled with religious imagery. Specters refers to William Shakespeare's ghost of the dead father, finality of the death of Marxism, & the implication that deconstruction is Karl Marx's heir. The themes of "inheritance" & "mourning" are explored, along with the paradox of "manic triumphalism" over the collapse of communism; deconstruction as a radicalization of Marxism; & motifs of spectrality & debt. It is noted that the paradox related to Derrida's notion of "historicity" affiliated with messianic affirmation debunks all forms of organized politics associated with Marxism. Further, Derrida describes his "New International" in terms of what it is not, rather than what it is, or could be. He restates the methodological individualism & voluntaristic notion of politics common to deconstruction but adds a tone of religious suffering that is contrary to deconstruction's self-affirmation of the past. J. Lindroth

Introduces the fifteen essays in this edited volume (see related abstracts in IRPS No. 88), which seek to elucidate a new form of Marxist theory stemming from the work of Louis Althusser. This new, postmodern form of Marxism is counterposed to a classical Marxism that was essentially teleological, economistic, & mechanistic. Central to both projects are the imagination & creation of a socialism, but a Marxism up to this task in the contemporary period is reformulated along three dimensions: its understanding of the economy, the space of socialism, & its relationship to history. It is argued that a new primitive narrative may be constructed out of these elements to create a new undergirding for Marxist theory. Within this theory, the working class is reconceptualized as the result of, rather that the condition of, class politics, & the notion of the vanguard is understood as the project of negotiating irreducible identities to create new social imaginaries. Finally, the relationship of this reformulated Marxism to the work of Althuser & to postmodernist theory is discussed. 57 References. D. M. Smith

Examines the analysis of economics, law, & state capitalism in the work of Friedrich Pollock & Franz Neumann, who recognized that capitalism was undergoing a basic transformation, & shared a fundamentally historical approach to political & economic issues. The involvement of Critical Theory with questions related to state capitalism is traced in relation to both general historical movements & Marx's concept of labor. Basic Marxist assumptions in Pollock's analysis of the transformation of capitalism are pointed out, along with the association he draws between the transformation of capitalism & the development of the interventionist state. Although Neumann avoided addressing questions Pollock raised about the endpoint of capitalism's development, he considered whether capitalism could exist in the absence of the market & private property. The reversal related to "labor" that is implied in Pollock's analysis of the transformation of capitalist society was central to Critical Theory's later association of labor with technological rationality. A reconceptualization of labor could avoid problematic aspects of both traditional Marxist & Critical Theory's understandings of postliberal society. J. Lindroth