The appearance of this Korean translation of Reality and Reason gives me the opportunity to clari... more The appearance of this Korean translation of Reality and Reason gives me the opportunity to clarify the purpose of the book and to indicate some of the areas in which my views have developed and altered in the years since it was first written.
It is clear that Freud's theories have had a profound and revolutionary impact on ideas about... more It is clear that Freud's theories have had a profound and revolutionary impact on ideas about human nature and human rationality. However, the precise nature of that impact is less clear. It is often said that psychoanalysis reveals the irrational forces at the root of even the most apparently rational forms of thought and activity; and that, in so doing, it undermines ideas about human rationality which have dominated western thought. That is undoubtedly true. However, it is only one aspect of the truth. For the implications of psychoanalysis are more complex and far-reaching than this currently fashionable view suggests.
The concepts of identity and community have recently been the subject of a good deal of debate in... more The concepts of identity and community have recently been the subject of a good deal of debate in social philosophy, much of it focused on the ideas of writers like MacIntyre, Taylor, Walzer. These philosophers are often referred to as `communitarians', though they do not constitute a united school and none of them identifies himself as such. Nevertheless, there are good reasons 1 for grouping them together, for they share some important elements of common ground. In their different ways, each develops a critique of liberal and individualist social theory and formulates a philosophy which recognises the reality and value of community. Specifically, they agree in rejecting the account of the individual and society which is at the basis of traditional liberal social philosophy in both its utilitarian and rights-based forms. In this philosophy the individual is portrayed as having a nature and an identity which exists prior to and independent of its social relations and social roles; and society is conceived as a mere aggregate of such individuals, each endowed with individual rights and pursuing its own conception of the good. By contrast, these writers insist, we are essentially social beings. All our distinctively human and moral characteristics are constituted socially and historically. Our desires and values, our ability to reason and choose, our very being and identity as human agents and moral selves, are formed only in and through our social relations and roles. There is such a thing as society, and it is prior to and constitutive of the individual. What Taylor calls the `atomic' individual and Sandel the `unencumbered' self of liberal social theory is a myth. 2 These ideas provide a compelling critique of the philosophical foundations of liberalism, and I shall take them as my starting point. They are not peculiar to communitarianism; they are-2-Richard Rorty's `The Priority of Democracy to Philosophy' and `Postmodernist Bourgeois Liberalism', 3
The concept of alienation is one of the most important and fruitful legacies of Hegel’s social ph... more The concept of alienation is one of the most important and fruitful legacies of Hegel’s social philosophy. It is strange therefore that Hegel’s own account is widely rejected, not least by writers in those traditions which have taken up and developed the concept in the most influential ways: Marxism and existentialism.
Reviews: The Collapse of the Fact/Value Dichotomy and Other Essays. Sayers, Sean (2003) Reviews: ... more Reviews: The Collapse of the Fact/Value Dichotomy and Other Essays. Sayers, Sean (2003) Reviews: The Collapse of the Fact/Value Dichotomy and Other Essays. ...
Hegel sets out the general principles of his dialectic in the opening sections of his Logic. He c... more Hegel sets out the general principles of his dialectic in the opening sections of his Logic. He claims that the development from being to nothing and becoming is a logical progression. This is invalid. It is what Marx calls the “mystical” shell of Hegel’s philosophy. And yet Marx is right to say that there is a rational kernel in these ideas. What is this and how can it be extracted? Marx argues that Hegel’s philosophy is inverted. To reveal its valid content, we must turn it right way up. The real starting point of Hegel’s arguments is what he portrays as its result – the concept of determinate being. We must start with this and read these sections of Hegel’s Logic backwards, as an analysis of the concept of determinate being. According to Hegel, determinate being is i) finite, and ii) alterable, and these are both manifestations of the contradictions inherent in it. I explain these views, I argue that they contain some of the most important ideas of dialectic, and I defend them against opposite empiricist and analytic ideas.
The appearance of this Korean translation of Reality and Reason gives me the opportunity to clari... more The appearance of this Korean translation of Reality and Reason gives me the opportunity to clarify the purpose of the book and to indicate some of the areas in which my views have developed and altered in the years since it was first written.
It is clear that Freud's theories have had a profound and revolutionary impact on ideas about... more It is clear that Freud's theories have had a profound and revolutionary impact on ideas about human nature and human rationality. However, the precise nature of that impact is less clear. It is often said that psychoanalysis reveals the irrational forces at the root of even the most apparently rational forms of thought and activity; and that, in so doing, it undermines ideas about human rationality which have dominated western thought. That is undoubtedly true. However, it is only one aspect of the truth. For the implications of psychoanalysis are more complex and far-reaching than this currently fashionable view suggests.
The concepts of identity and community have recently been the subject of a good deal of debate in... more The concepts of identity and community have recently been the subject of a good deal of debate in social philosophy, much of it focused on the ideas of writers like MacIntyre, Taylor, Walzer. These philosophers are often referred to as `communitarians', though they do not constitute a united school and none of them identifies himself as such. Nevertheless, there are good reasons 1 for grouping them together, for they share some important elements of common ground. In their different ways, each develops a critique of liberal and individualist social theory and formulates a philosophy which recognises the reality and value of community. Specifically, they agree in rejecting the account of the individual and society which is at the basis of traditional liberal social philosophy in both its utilitarian and rights-based forms. In this philosophy the individual is portrayed as having a nature and an identity which exists prior to and independent of its social relations and social roles; and society is conceived as a mere aggregate of such individuals, each endowed with individual rights and pursuing its own conception of the good. By contrast, these writers insist, we are essentially social beings. All our distinctively human and moral characteristics are constituted socially and historically. Our desires and values, our ability to reason and choose, our very being and identity as human agents and moral selves, are formed only in and through our social relations and roles. There is such a thing as society, and it is prior to and constitutive of the individual. What Taylor calls the `atomic' individual and Sandel the `unencumbered' self of liberal social theory is a myth. 2 These ideas provide a compelling critique of the philosophical foundations of liberalism, and I shall take them as my starting point. They are not peculiar to communitarianism; they are-2-Richard Rorty's `The Priority of Democracy to Philosophy' and `Postmodernist Bourgeois Liberalism', 3
The concept of alienation is one of the most important and fruitful legacies of Hegel’s social ph... more The concept of alienation is one of the most important and fruitful legacies of Hegel’s social philosophy. It is strange therefore that Hegel’s own account is widely rejected, not least by writers in those traditions which have taken up and developed the concept in the most influential ways: Marxism and existentialism.
Reviews: The Collapse of the Fact/Value Dichotomy and Other Essays. Sayers, Sean (2003) Reviews: ... more Reviews: The Collapse of the Fact/Value Dichotomy and Other Essays. Sayers, Sean (2003) Reviews: The Collapse of the Fact/Value Dichotomy and Other Essays. ...
Hegel sets out the general principles of his dialectic in the opening sections of his Logic. He c... more Hegel sets out the general principles of his dialectic in the opening sections of his Logic. He claims that the development from being to nothing and becoming is a logical progression. This is invalid. It is what Marx calls the “mystical” shell of Hegel’s philosophy. And yet Marx is right to say that there is a rational kernel in these ideas. What is this and how can it be extracted? Marx argues that Hegel’s philosophy is inverted. To reveal its valid content, we must turn it right way up. The real starting point of Hegel’s arguments is what he portrays as its result – the concept of determinate being. We must start with this and read these sections of Hegel’s Logic backwards, as an analysis of the concept of determinate being. According to Hegel, determinate being is i) finite, and ii) alterable, and these are both manifestations of the contradictions inherent in it. I explain these views, I argue that they contain some of the most important ideas of dialectic, and I defend them against opposite empiricist and analytic ideas.
Discussion of Marxism in the Western world since the nineteen-sixties has been dominated by a rea... more Discussion of Marxism in the Western world since the nineteen-sixties has been dominated by a reaction against Hegelian ideas. This agenda has been shared equally by the analytical Marxism which has predominated in the English speaking world and by the structuralist Marxism which has been the major influence in the continental tradition. The main purpose of my own work has been to reassess these attitudes.
Le pas d'acier was conceived in 1925 at the height of enthusiasm for the Russian Revolution b... more Le pas d'acier was conceived in 1925 at the height of enthusiasm for the Russian Revolution both in Russia and abroad. Prokofiev int ended the ballet to `show the new life that had come to the Soviet Union, and primarily th e construction effort.' He quotes Yakulov as saying that the ballet would portray `th e uplifting influence of organised labour.' (Prokofiev 1991, 278). In its theme and it s staging it is a celebration of industry and labour.
The concept of authenticity -the idea of `being oneself' or being `true to oneself' -is c... more The concept of authenticity -the idea of `being oneself' or being `true to oneself' -is central to modern moral thought. Yet it is a puzzling notion. This article discusses two accounts of it. Essentialism holds that each individual has a `true' nature or self. Feelings and actions are authentic when they correspond to this nature. This approach is contrasted with views of the self as a complex entity in which all parts are essential, and in which authenticity involves the harmonious functioning of all parts together. This approach is illustrated from Freud and Plato, and defended against the charge of conservatism (Marcuse) and the postmodernist rejection of the very idea of an integral self (Rorty).
The fundamental principles of modern dialectical philosophy derive from Hegel. He sums them up as... more The fundamental principles of modern dialectical philosophy derive from Hegel. He sums them up as follows. `Everything is inherently contradictory ... Contradiction is the root of all movement and vitality, it is only in so far as something has a contradiction within it that it moves, has an urge and activity' (Hegel 1969, 439). In Hegel's philosophy these ideas form part of an all-embracing idealist system which portrays all phenomena both natural and social as subject to dialectic. Marx inherits and transforms these ideas; but how precisely he does so has been a topic of much dispute within western Marxism. Marx himself describes his relation to Hegel with the aid of a couple of graphic but vague metaphors. He says that he turns Hegel's dialectic `right side up' in order to `discover the rational kernel within the mystical shell' (Marx 1961, 20). But how can this be done? Is there a `rational kernel' to Hegel's dialectic? If so, how can it be extracted?
How does Marx criticize capitalism? On what basis does he advocate social-ism? Marx's own ac... more How does Marx criticize capitalism? On what basis does he advocate social-ism? Marx's own account of these matters seems puzzling. On the one hand, he claims to be putting forward an objective and 'scientific' theory of his-tory, a fundamental tenet of which is that moral ...
He begins by saying that the book proposes an argument which is `bold, graphic and firmly delinea... more He begins by saying that the book proposes an argument which is `bold, graphic and firmly delineated' (150), but he immediately loses sight of this and launches into mockery and knockabout. Instead of engaging with what I have actually written he sets up a series of caricature examples and arguments of his own which he then charges with `ambiguity', inconsistency', `confusion' and `unclarity'. The confusion and unclarity are entirely of Eagleton's own making. They are created by the crude and uncritical assumptions that he brings with him in advance assumptions which it is a major purpose of the book to challenge and criticise.
Generalisation in this area is particularly difficult. The very claim that Marxism has a theory o... more Generalisation in this area is particularly difficult. The very claim that Marxism has a theory of alienation is controversial. The term has a shifting meaning in Marx's early writings and it plays only a peripheral role in his later work. Generalising about existentialism is even more problematic. Existentialism is not a definite philosophical school at all. At best it is a loose tradition, and many of the writers associated with it do not explicitly use the concept of alienation.
ABSTRACT The question “What is Marxism?” is not as straightforward as it appears. There are diffe... more ABSTRACT The question “What is Marxism?” is not as straightforward as it appears. There are different ways of answering it. One can study and describe what Marx himself wrote and said, but Marx’s views changed, and Marxism has had a life beyond Marx. Some try to define Marxism by specifying an agreed core of doctrines, others by its method, or by its practical commitments. Each of these definitions captures an aspect of the nature of Marxism, but none is without problems. Controversy still rages about Marx’s legacy and its contemporary significance.
For Mary Ann, Ben, Larissa, and Michael Oxford University Press Oxford New York Toronto Delhi Bom... more For Mary Ann, Ben, Larissa, and Michael Oxford University Press Oxford New York Toronto Delhi Bombay Calcutta Madras Karachi Petaling Jaya Singapore Hong Kong Tokyo Nairobi Dar es Saiaara Cape Town Melbourne Auckland and associated companies in Berlin Ibadan ...
, xii + 328pp., $39.95. The eariy years of this century saw a remarkable explosion of cultural in... more , xii + 328pp., $39.95. The eariy years of this century saw a remarkable explosion of cultural innovation and creativity. Writers and artists in ah fields rejected traditional forms and methods. They began to develop and explore a variety of new approaches and techniques, which now go under the general title of 'modernism'. This diverse movement has profoundly altered the way in which we perceive and think about the world. It is the subject of the present book. The book is, in fact, a collection of papers which originated from a series of lectures given in Cambridge. The treatment is thematic rather than chronological; but a broad range of topics is covered, which gives a good sense of the great diversity and richness of the modern movement in the years from the turn of the century up to the Second World War. The main focus is on literature. For example, there are pieces on English modernism (Eliot, Pound and Joyce), on 'The Poetry of Protest' (dealing with Auden, Aragon and Eluard), and a rather predictable feminist discussion of Proust, Virginia Woolf and surrealism. Cinema, theatre and fine art are also covered,and there are a number of useful pieces on the aesthetic theories of modernism (on Brecht, Benjamin, Lukacs and Gramsci). More unusually, there is an informative article on the Turkish poet Hikmet, and an interesting account of Zionist writing in German in the pre-war period. The connection of art and politics is a theme which is taken up by many of the contributors. Most of the writers and artists discussed were not only artistically avantgarde but also politically radical. Through the 'visions and blueprints' they created, they wanted not just to change consciousness but to transform society. Disillusion with bourgeois society was widespread, and it was not confined to the left. Indeed, it is a common thread which unites the political extremes of both right and left: fascism and communism. While many artists and writers of the period, like Brecht, Aragon, Auden and Eisenstein, were indeed of the left; others were drawn towards right wing, even fascist, views (Eliot, Pound). In this connection there is a particuiarly interesting piece by Judy Davis, exploring the ambivalent political attitudes of the Itatian 'futurist' Marinetti. The fact that poiiticai radicalism was a phenomenon of both the Ieft and right isa theme that is emphasised by a number of the contributors. It is useful to be reminded of this at the present time, when right-wing radicalism is again playing a significant role in contemporary politics in Britain and the United States. Some of the contributors go so far as to suggest that left and right were equally attractive alternatives for the artists of the modern movement; but this is questionable. With some notable exceptions, like Eliot, Pound and Marinetti, the great majority of modernist writers and artists strongly opposed fascism. Many worked actively in support of the anti-Fascist movement and for the Republican cause during the Spanish Civil War. This is documented in an interesting memoir by Margot Heinemann about the Marxist literary journals Left Review and New Writing. Moreover, as Frank Whitford shows in a fascinating and informative piece, the virulent anti-modernism of the Nazis had a catastrophic impact on German art. This is a wide ranging and vafuable collection,and anyone interested in modernism will
This is the third and final volume collecting together writings that were left unpublished when C... more This is the third and final volume collecting together writings that were left unpublished when Cohen died so unexpectedly in 2009. It is a disparate collection, made up of three quite separate parts. The first and largest part contains lectures that Cohen gave on various figures in moral and political philosophy: Plato, Hobbes, Locke, Hume, Kant, Hegel and Nietzsche. These lectures were given at different times and places, including University College London and Oxford where he worked for most of his career, and McGill University, Montreal, where he held a visiting appointment in 1965-6. The text is compiled from notes which, we are told, Cohen himself had thought of writing up for publication. (vii) The second part contains five unrelated papers not included in previous collections of his works; and finally there is a short Memoir by the editor, Jonathan Wolff, which gives a very useful brief outline of the development of Cohen's thought.
When Hegel died in 1831 his philosophy was completely dominant in Germany, but its implications b... more When Hegel died in 1831 his philosophy was completely dominant in Germany, but its implications beyond what he had made explicit were soon being contested by his left and right wing followers. This was a time of intense intellectual creativity and ferment, of increasing questioning and criticism, leading up to the revolutions of 1848. In Germany, in particular, the strict censorship of political discussion resulted in a flourishing of abstract philosophical and theological disputes, an extraordinary outpouring of abstruse controversies and polemics -until these, too, were suppressed by the Prussian censorship. Marx and Kierkegaard emerged from this milieu. Some of the other main thinkers to do so -Stirner, Feuerbach, Engels, and Bruno Bauer -are also figures of enduring importance. Hegel and Marx are such giants, however, that their work has cast a shadow over the work of these lesser thinkers and in some cases eclipsed them almost altogether. They are seen only for the way they react to Hegel or lead towards Marx, and have received little scholarly attention in their own right.
Paul Zarembka has not read my review of White with sufficient care. At least he does not appear t... more Paul Zarembka has not read my review of White with sufficient care. At least he does not appear to have understood the criticisms I made of White since his reply does not answer them. My argument is not with the evidence that White assembles and which Zarembka summarises at length but with the conclusions that they both seek to draw from it.
University Press, Cambridge, MA and London, 2000. xxii + 384pp. ISBN 0-674-06296-2 hb; 0-674-0044... more University Press, Cambridge, MA and London, 2000. xxii + 384pp. ISBN 0-674-06296-2 hb; 0-674-00442-6 pb. £30.95 hb; £13.95 pb. Few recent works of philosophy have had a greater impact than Rawls' A Theory of Justice, first published in 1971. It revitalised the whole area of moral and political philosophy and led to a revival of interest in questions of justice and right. A strong Kantian influence is evident in it,
Ian Hunt, Analytical and Dialectical Marxism, Aldershot and Brookfield VT: Avebury, 1993. ISBN 1-... more Ian Hunt, Analytical and Dialectical Marxism, Aldershot and Brookfield VT: Avebury, 1993. ISBN 1-85628-425-5. Hiding behind the anodyne title of this book is a work of large scope and considerable interest for the Hegelian reader. Its main purpose is to vindicate a dialectical interpretation of Marxism in the context of recent analytical Marxism. The book falls into two parts. The first contains a detailed account of the dialectical philosophy implicit in Marx's work, and of its background in the philosophies of Kant and Hegel. The second shows how this account of Marx's approach can be used to resolve some of the major issues in Marxist philosophy and to illuminate some of the central topics in Marxist social, political and economic thought.
Marx’s philosophy of history follows in the footsteps of Hegel’s; but he claims to criticize and ... more Marx’s philosophy of history follows in the footsteps of Hegel’s; but he claims to criticize and reject Hegel’s idealism and develop a dialectical and materialist philosophy. However, many question how far he succeeds in this. They criticize his philosophy for what they see as significant residual Hegelian and idealist aspects in it. The purpose of this paper is to respond to these criticisms. I shall concentrate particular on arguments made by Althusser and Badiou, and I shall focus on two charges that they and others often make against Marxism: 1) that its account of history is teleological; and 2) that it falsely portrays history as following a necessary and meaningful course.
Compares and contrasts Hegel and Marx’s philosophies of history. Discusses the nature of Marx’s m... more Compares and contrasts Hegel and Marx’s philosophies of history. Discusses the nature of Marx’s materialism and his concept of historical progress.
At the beginning of this book we are told how the author was awoken from his Lukácsian slumbers b... more At the beginning of this book we are told how the author was awoken from his Lukácsian slumbers by reading G.A. Cohen's account of Marxism when he was a student in California. As a graduate he set out to discover the genealogy of Cohen's work. This book is the result. It starts from the question of whether there is an `anglo-Marxism which account[s] for the nature of Cohen's work' (p. ix). Unfortunately, this question rests on a false assumption. Cohen grew up in Montreal and came to England as a graduate student. His intellectual formation took place in Canada, both as a Marxist and as a philosopher. There is no reason to suppose that the British communist intellectuals whom Roberts describes had any special influence on his thought.
Radical Philosophy is a British philosophical journal of the left. It was founded in 1972. It pro... more Radical Philosophy is a British philosophical journal of the left. It was founded in 1972. It probably has a larger active readership than any other philosophical journal in Britain. It circulates throughout the English-speaking world and in many other countries. The journal also organises a regular programme of conferences and meetings. Material from the journal has been widely discussed and reprinted. Two anthologies of articles from the journal have so far been published.
Hegel sets out the general principles of his dialectic in the opening sections of his Logic. He c... more Hegel sets out the general principles of his dialectic in the opening sections of his Logic. He claims that the development from being to nothing and becoming is a logical progression. This is invalid. It is what Marx calls the “mystical” shell of Hegel’s philosophy. And yet Marx is right to say that there is a rational kernel in these ideas. What is this and how can it be extracted? Marx argues that Hegel’s philosophy is inverted. To reveal its valid content, we must turn it right way up. The real starting point of Hegel’s arguments is what he portrays as its result – the concept of determinate being. We must start with this and read these sections of Hegel’s Logic backwards, as an analysis of the concept of determinate being. According to Hegel, determinate being is i) finite, and ii) alterable, and these are both manifestations of the contradictions inherent in it. I explain these views, I argue that they contain some of the most important ideas of dialectic, and I defend them against opposite empiricist and analytic ideas.
The question `What is Marxism?’ is not as straightforward as it appears. There are different ways... more The question `What is Marxism?’ is not as straightforward as it appears. There are different ways of answering it. One can study and describe what Marx himself wrote and said, but Marx’s views changed, and Marxism has had a life beyond Marx. Some try to define Marxism by specifying an agreed core of doctrines, others by its method or practical commitments. None of these definitions is without problems. Controversy still rages about Marx’s legacy and its contemporary significance.
The idea that nature is dialectical is much criticised and Engels is often held primarily respons... more The idea that nature is dialectical is much criticised and Engels is often held primarily responsible for it, although the idea comes from Hegel. It is an elementary logical principle, it is claimed, that contradictions cannot exist in things but only in the realm of human thought and activity. In response, I argue that this is not a purely formal logical principle, it implies a mechanistic picture of nature, and the view that the realm of thought and rational activity is completely distinct from the natural world. Engels rejects these dualistic ideas and develops a non-mechanistic, non-reductive and dialectical form of materialism. According to this, nature develops and changes. Living organisms and human consciousness are natural phenomena that have emerged as a result of natural development. These ideas are explained and defended against criticisms.
Marxism involves a much darker and more complex philosophy of progress than is often thought. Acc... more Marxism involves a much darker and more complex philosophy of progress than is often thought. According to it, historical development is a contradictory process that takes place through the action of negative forces. These ideas are traced in accounts by Marx and Engels of the development of capitalism, and discussed critically with particular focus on Marx’s descriptions of the British rule in India. The charges that Marx’s concept of progress ignores environmental issues, that it is orientalist, Eurocentric, and that it implies a unilinear theory of history are discussed. Keywords: Marx, Engels, progress, historical materialism
Review of Ėvald Ilyenkov, Intelligent Materialism: Essays on Hegel and Dialectics. Edited and tra... more Review of Ėvald Ilyenkov, Intelligent Materialism: Essays on Hegel and Dialectics. Edited and translated by Evgeni V. Pavlov Brill, Leiden and Boston, 2018. ISBN 9789004232471 - for Science & Society
The way in which the influence of Marx’s ideas has grown and spread means that Marxism must be se... more The way in which the influence of Marx’s ideas has grown and spread means that Marxism must be seen as a historical tradition rather than as a single theory. With the collapse of Soviet communism and the resurgence of neo-liberal capitalism since the 1980s, Marxism – in all its forms – suffered an historic setback and led many to conclude that Marxism was dead. The crisis that has engulfed capitalism has put it back on the agenda. Nevertheless, the absence of the revolutionary working class that Marx predicted still poses great problems for Marx’s theory which are discussed in this paper.
When I was recently invited to contribute to a conference on the Centenary of the Russian Revolut... more When I was recently invited to contribute to a conference on the Centenary of the Russian Revolution my first inclination was to decline on the grounds that I am not an expert on Russian history or on the Revolution, but then I thought: the Revolution was a momentous event that is of concern not only to specialists, and as a Marxist I should have something to say about it.
Marx sees history as a progressive development. This account is criticised for portraying history... more Marx sees history as a progressive development. This account is criticised for portraying history in a Hegelian fashion as a single teleological process culminating ultimately in a classless communist society. Is this criticism justified? What role – if any – do teleological ideas play in Marx’s philosophy? Marx himself is unclear on these issues. Through a critical discussion of Althusser’s view that history is a process without a subject, I argue that Marxism is best seen as a theory which involves a naturalistic concept of teleology and which describes the historical emergence of the human subject. This interpretation is supported by comparison of Marx’s theory of history with Darwinian evolutionary theory.
The somewhat cryptic title of this book refers to one of the main areas of recent controversy aro... more The somewhat cryptic title of this book refers to one of the main areas of recent controversy around Marxism. `Classical' Marxism claims to be based upon a scientific theory of history, historical materialism, derived from Hegel which portrays history as a progressive and dialectical process of development through a series of fixed stages. This has been subject to a familiar barrage of criticisms by numerous contemporary French thinkers according to which Marxism is made into a form of historicism which portrays history as a fixed unilinear process, a Hegelian grand narrative which is supposed to give a teleological guarantee of progress, and which cannot recognise the existence of uniquèevents', ruptures and breaks in history. This has become such a familiar litany of charges that usually it is simply gestured at. One of the distinguishing features of this book is that it describes and discusses them in a detailed and critical way. The book is divided into three main parts. The first deals with classical Marxism, and focuses on Hegel, Marx, and Lenin. It concentrates particularly on the idea that development occurs through a dialectic of quantitative and qualitative changes in which incremental and quantitative changes give rise eventually to a radical, qualitative change. This was enshrined by Engels as one of his threèlaws of dialectic', and by subsequent Marxists in the classical tradition, including Lenin. Coombs follows Althusser in arguing that this philosophy assimilates breaks and ruptures to " the cumulative, teleological structure of the dialectic " (38), and hence that it " cannot think discontinuous events " (92). It leads to a " fusion of evolution and revolution " (43) which has the political effect of negating the revolutionary significance of Marx's philosophy. Faced with the awkward fact that Marx himself uses these Hegelian ideas in some very prominent places, Coombs resorts to the time honoured tactic of blaming Engels for them. Following Althusser, he simply asserts that Marx's references to the dialectic of quantity and quality are mere marginal and insignificant " rhetorical gestures " and " speculative flourishes " (57). Lenin, too, espoused these ideas and he too is duly accused of capitulating to evolutionism, mainly on the grounds that he advocated Taylorist methods to increase production in Soviet factories (68). The second section of the book describes some of the main sources of these ideas, particularly in Althusser and Badiou. There is also a chapter on Quentin Meillassoux, but this seems somewhat marginal since there is little discussion of either Marxism or the philosophy of history in his work. Coombs provides a good account of this body of work, but what is particularly noteworthy is his critique of it. He endorses Althusser's and Badiou's aim to rid Marxism of Hegelian dialectic, and to " place discontinuous events at the heart of historical intelligibility " (9). In his early work, Coombs argues, Althusser made important and necessary criticisms of the sort just outlined of classical Marxism. But in his later work he " took a wrong turn in the right direction " (164) when he criticised his own " rationalist excesses " , but then he came to reject the very idea that
There is no doubt that Marx adopts important aspects of Hegel’s philosophy of history. Like Hegel... more There is no doubt that Marx adopts important aspects of Hegel’s philosophy of history. Like Hegel, he regards history as a progressive development through stages of alienation and its overcoming. He claims to criticise and reject Hegel’s idealism and to develop a dialectical and materialist theory. However, his theory of history is often criticised for being infected by Hegelian teleological ideas. In this article I defend Marx against this charge by arguing that Marx develops a progressive but non-teleological theory of history.
With the current crisis of capitalism the idea of an alternative – communism – is back on the age... more With the current crisis of capitalism the idea of an alternative – communism – is back on the agenda. Marx sees communism as a future historical stage that will arise out of the social and economic contradictions of capitalism. However, although capitalism is in crisis, there is no sign of the forces Marx believed would bring about its overthrow and create a new society. Writers like Badiou argue that communism will arise from a sudden and unpredictable `event’. I will discuss these different ideas of communism in the context of the present situation.
With the current crisis of capitalism the idea of an alternative – communism – is back on the age... more With the current crisis of capitalism the idea of an alternative – communism – is back on the agenda. Marx sees communism as a future historical stage that will arise out of the social and economic contradictions of capitalism. However, although capitalism is in crisis, there is no sign of the forces Marx believed would bring about its overthrow and create a new society. Writers like Badiou argue that communism will arise from a sudden and unpredictable `event’. I will discuss these different ideas of communism in the context of the present situation.
[contribution to a planned Festschrift for David McLellan]
One of David McLellan’s most importan... more [contribution to a planned Festschrift for David McLellan]
One of David McLellan’s most important contributions to Marxist scholarship is his insistence and his demonstration, particularly in his edition of Marx’s Grundrisse, of the continuity between Marx’s early and later work. He shows that the Hegelian influence on Marx extends into his later work, and that the concept of alienation continues to play a major role in his thought. In this chapter I will extend this argument by showing that, even where the language of `alienation’ is not explicitly used, the concept is present in Marx’s later works. The idea of a sharp break in the development of Marx’s philosophy leads to a seriously distorted understanding of it. It is wrong to see the concept of alienation in the early works as purely ethical. On the contrary, it embodies the beginning of Marx’s attempt to understand and analyse the nature of capitalism in economic and social terms. In his later work the language of alienation is for the most part discarded, but not the fundamental ideas first expressed in 1844. In particular, the theme of alienation and its overcoming is embodied in the concepts of abstract labour and fetishism which have a prominent place in Capital and play a central role in the critique of capitalism in that work.
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Papers by sean sayers
Marx argues that Hegel’s philosophy is inverted. To reveal its valid content, we must turn it right way up. The real starting point of Hegel’s arguments is what he portrays as its result – the concept of determinate being. We must start with this and read these sections of Hegel’s Logic backwards, as an analysis of the concept of determinate being.
According to Hegel, determinate being is i) finite, and ii) alterable, and these are both manifestations of the contradictions inherent in it. I explain these views, I argue that they contain some of the most important ideas of dialectic, and I defend them against opposite empiricist and analytic ideas.
Keywords: Marx, Engels, progress, historical materialism
18 April 2017
One of David McLellan’s most important contributions to Marxist scholarship is his insistence and his demonstration, particularly in his edition of Marx’s Grundrisse, of the continuity between Marx’s early and later work. He shows that the Hegelian influence on Marx extends into his later work, and that the concept of alienation continues to play a major role in his thought. In this chapter I will extend this argument by showing that, even where the language of `alienation’ is not explicitly used, the concept is present in Marx’s later works. The idea of a sharp break in the development of Marx’s philosophy leads to a seriously distorted understanding of it. It is wrong to see the concept of alienation in the early works as purely ethical. On the contrary, it embodies the beginning of Marx’s attempt to understand and analyse the nature of capitalism in economic and social terms. In his later work the language of alienation is for the most part discarded, but not the fundamental ideas first expressed in 1844. In particular, the theme of alienation and its overcoming is embodied in the concepts of abstract labour and fetishism which have a prominent place in Capital and play a central role in the critique of capitalism in that work.