Marxist humanism
Encyclopedia
Marxist humanism is a branch of Marxism
that primarily focuses on Marx's
earlier writings, especially the Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844
in which Marx espoused his theory of alienation
, as opposed to his later works, which are considered to be concerned more with his structural conception of capitalist society. The Praxis School
, which called for radical social change in Josip Broz Tito
's Yugoslavia
in the 1960s, was one such Marxist humanist movement.
Marxist humanism was opposed by the "antihumanism
" of Marxist philosopher
Louis Althusser
, who described it as a revisionist movement.
of the labourer" as he advanced it in his Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844
-- an alienation that is born of a capitalist system in which the worker no longer functions as (what Marx termed) a free being involved with free and associated labor. And although many scholars consider late Marx less of a humanist than the Marx who wrote pre-Das Kapital
(For Marx by Althusser), as his later works are rather bereft of references to this alienation, others {for example David McLellan, Robert C. Tucker
, George Brenkert} argue that the notion of alienation
remains a part of Marx's philosophy. Theodor Shanin) and Raya Dunayevskaya
go further, asserting that not only is alienation present in the late Marx, but that there is no split between the young Marx
and mature Marx.
, the French Structuralist Marxist
, criticises Marxist Humanists for not recognising the dichotomy between 'Young Marx
' and 'Mature Marx'. Althusser believes Marx's thought to be marked by a radical "epistemological break". For Althusser, the humanism of Marx's early writings - influenced by Hegel and Feuerbach - is fundamentally incongruous with the "scientific", structure-concerned theory found in Marx's mature works such as Das Kapital
. Of the Marxist Humanist's reliance on the 1844 Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts Althusser writes, "We do not publish our own drafts, that is, our own mistakes, but we do sometimes publish other people's" (cited in Gregory Elliot's "introduction: In the Mirror of Machiavelli" an introduction for Althusser's "Machiavelli and us", p. xi). The Humanists contend that ‘Marxism’ developed lopsidedly because Marx's early works were unknown until after the orthodox
ideas were in vogue — the Manuscripts of 1844 were published only in 1932 — and to understand his latter works properly it is necessary to understand Marx's philosophical foundations. Althusser, however, does not defend orthodox Marxism's economic reductionism and determinism
; instead, he develops his own theories regarding ideological hegemony
and conditioning within class societies, through the concept of Ideological State Apparatuses (ISA) and interpellation which constitutes the subject
.
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
that primarily focuses on Marx's
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
earlier writings, especially the Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844
Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844
Economic & Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844 are a series of notes written between April and August 1844 by Karl Marx. Not published by Marx during his lifetime, they were first released in 1927 by researchers in the Soviet Union.The notebooks are an early expression of Marx's analysis of...
in which Marx espoused his theory of alienation
Marx's theory of alienation
Marx's theory of alienation , as expressed in the writings of the young Karl Marx , refers to the separation of things that naturally belong together, or to put antagonism between things that are properly in harmony...
, as opposed to his later works, which are considered to be concerned more with his structural conception of capitalist society. The Praxis School
Praxis School
The Praxis school was a Marxist humanist philosophical movement. It originated in Zagreb and Belgrade in the SFR Yugoslavia, during the 1960s.Prominent figures among the school's founders include Gajo Petrović and Milan Kangrga of Zagreb and Mihailo Marković of Belgrade...
, which called for radical social change in Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz Tito
Marshal Josip Broz Tito – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. While his presidency has been criticized as authoritarian, Tito was a popular public figure both in Yugoslavia and abroad, viewed as a unifying symbol for the nations of the Yugoslav federation...
's Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
in the 1960s, was one such Marxist humanist movement.
Marxist humanism was opposed by the "antihumanism
Antihumanism
Antihumanism is a term referring to a number of perspectives that are opposed to the project of philosophical anthropology...
" of Marxist philosopher
Marxist philosophy
Marxist philosophy or Marxist theory are terms that cover work in philosophy that is strongly influenced by Karl Marx's materialist approach to theory or that is written by Marxists...
Louis Althusser
Louis Althusser
Louis Pierre Althusser was a French Marxist philosopher. He was born in Algeria and studied at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, where he eventually became Professor of Philosophy....
, who described it as a revisionist movement.
The theory of Marxist humanism
The term "Marxist humanism" has as its foundation Marx's conception of the "alienationMarx's theory of alienation
Marx's theory of alienation , as expressed in the writings of the young Karl Marx , refers to the separation of things that naturally belong together, or to put antagonism between things that are properly in harmony...
of the labourer" as he advanced it in his Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844
Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844
Economic & Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844 are a series of notes written between April and August 1844 by Karl Marx. Not published by Marx during his lifetime, they were first released in 1927 by researchers in the Soviet Union.The notebooks are an early expression of Marx's analysis of...
-- an alienation that is born of a capitalist system in which the worker no longer functions as (what Marx termed) a free being involved with free and associated labor. And although many scholars consider late Marx less of a humanist than the Marx who wrote pre-Das Kapital
Das Kapital
Das Kapital, Kritik der politischen Ökonomie , by Karl Marx, is a critical analysis of capitalism as political economy, meant to reveal the economic laws of the capitalist mode of production, and how it was the precursor of the socialist mode of production.- Themes :In Capital: Critique of...
(For Marx by Althusser), as his later works are rather bereft of references to this alienation, others {for example David McLellan, Robert C. Tucker
Robert C. Tucker
Robert Charles Tucker was an American political scientist.Born in Kansas City, Missouri, he was a Sovietologist at Princeton University. He served as an attaché at the American Embassy in Moscow from 1944–1953. He received his PhD degree from Harvard University in 1958; his doctoral dissertation...
, George Brenkert} argue that the notion of alienation
Marx's theory of alienation
Marx's theory of alienation , as expressed in the writings of the young Karl Marx , refers to the separation of things that naturally belong together, or to put antagonism between things that are properly in harmony...
remains a part of Marx's philosophy. Theodor Shanin) and Raya Dunayevskaya
Raya Dunayevskaya
Raya Dunayevskaya was the founder of the philosophy of Marxist Humanism in the United States of America. At one time Leon Trotsky's secretary, she later split with him and ultimately founded the organization News and Letters Committees and was its leader until her death.-Biography:Of Jewish...
go further, asserting that not only is alienation present in the late Marx, but that there is no split between the young Marx
Young Marx
Some theorists consider Karl Marx's thought to be divided into a "young" period and a "mature" one. There is disagreement to when Marx's thought began to mature, and the problem of the idea of a "Young Marx" is the problem of tracking the development of Marx's works and of its possible unity...
and mature Marx.
Criticism
The most potent criticism of Marxist Humanism has come from within the Marxist movement. Louis AlthusserLouis Althusser
Louis Pierre Althusser was a French Marxist philosopher. He was born in Algeria and studied at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, where he eventually became Professor of Philosophy....
, the French Structuralist Marxist
Structural Marxism
Structural Marxism was an approach to Marxist philosophy based on structuralism, primarily associated with the work of the French philosopher Louis Althusser and his students. It was influential in France during the 1960s and 1970s, and also came to influence philosophers, political theorists and...
, criticises Marxist Humanists for not recognising the dichotomy between 'Young Marx
Young Marx
Some theorists consider Karl Marx's thought to be divided into a "young" period and a "mature" one. There is disagreement to when Marx's thought began to mature, and the problem of the idea of a "Young Marx" is the problem of tracking the development of Marx's works and of its possible unity...
' and 'Mature Marx'. Althusser believes Marx's thought to be marked by a radical "epistemological break". For Althusser, the humanism of Marx's early writings - influenced by Hegel and Feuerbach - is fundamentally incongruous with the "scientific", structure-concerned theory found in Marx's mature works such as Das Kapital
Das Kapital
Das Kapital, Kritik der politischen Ökonomie , by Karl Marx, is a critical analysis of capitalism as political economy, meant to reveal the economic laws of the capitalist mode of production, and how it was the precursor of the socialist mode of production.- Themes :In Capital: Critique of...
. Of the Marxist Humanist's reliance on the 1844 Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts Althusser writes, "We do not publish our own drafts, that is, our own mistakes, but we do sometimes publish other people's" (cited in Gregory Elliot's "introduction: In the Mirror of Machiavelli" an introduction for Althusser's "Machiavelli and us", p. xi). The Humanists contend that ‘Marxism’ developed lopsidedly because Marx's early works were unknown until after the orthodox
Orthodox Marxism
Orthodox Marxism is the term used to describe the version of Marxism which emerged after the death of Karl Marx and acted as the official philosophy of the Second International up to the First World War and of the Third International thereafter...
ideas were in vogue — the Manuscripts of 1844 were published only in 1932 — and to understand his latter works properly it is necessary to understand Marx's philosophical foundations. Althusser, however, does not defend orthodox Marxism's economic reductionism and determinism
Economic determinism
Economic determinism is the theory which attributes primacy to the economic structure over politics in the development of human history. It is usually associated with the theories of Karl Marx, although many Marxist thinkers have dismissed plain and unilateral economic determinism as a form of...
; instead, he develops his own theories regarding ideological hegemony
Hegemony
Hegemony is an indirect form of imperial dominance in which the hegemon rules sub-ordinate states by the implied means of power rather than direct military force. In Ancient Greece , hegemony denoted the politico–military dominance of a city-state over other city-states...
and conditioning within class societies, through the concept of Ideological State Apparatuses (ISA) and interpellation which constitutes the subject
Subject (philosophy)
In philosophy, a subject is a being that has subjective experiences, subjective consciousness or a relationship with another entity . A subject is an observer and an object is a thing observed...
.
Marxist humanists
Notable thinkers associated with Marxist humanism include:- György Lukács (1885-1971) Hungarian Marxist philosopher and literary critic.
- Ernst Bloch (1885-1977) was a German Marxist philosopher.
- John Lewis (philosopher)John Lewis (philosopher)John Lewis was a British Unitarian minister and Marxist philosopher and author of many works on philosophy, anthropology, and religion....
(1889-1976) British Unitarian minister and Marxist philosopher. - Antonio GramsciAntonio GramsciAntonio Gramsci was an Italian writer, politician, political philosopher, and linguist. He was a founding member and onetime leader of the Communist Party of Italy and was imprisoned by Benito Mussolini's Fascist regime...
(1891–1937) an Italian writer, politician, political philosopher, and linguist. - Walter BenjaminWalter BenjaminWalter Bendix Schönflies Benjamin was a German-Jewish intellectual, who functioned variously as a literary critic, philosopher, sociologist, translator, radio broadcaster and essayist...
(1892-1940) German-Jewish Marxist literary critic, essayist, translator, and philosopher. - Herbert MarcuseHerbert MarcuseHerbert Marcuse was a German Jewish philosopher, sociologist and political theorist, associated with the Frankfurt School of critical theory...
(1898-1979) German philosopher and sociologist, and a member of the Frankfurt School. - Erich FrommErich FrommErich Seligmann Fromm was a Jewish German-American social psychologist, psychoanalyst, sociologist, humanistic philosopher, and democratic socialist. He was associated with what became known as the Frankfurt School of critical theory.-Life:Erich Fromm was born on March 23, 1900, at Frankfurt am...
(1900-1980) internationally renowned social psychologist, psychoanalyst, and humanistic philosopher. - C. L. R. JamesC. L. R. JamesCyril Lionel Robert James , who sometimes wrote under the pen-name J.R. Johnson, was an Afro-Trinidadian historian, journalist, socialist theorist and essayist. His works are influential in various theoretical, social, and historiographical contexts...
(1901-1989) Afro-Trinidadian journalist, socialist theorist and writer. - Henri LefebvreHenri LefebvreHenri Lefebvre was a French sociologist, Marxist intellectual, and philosopher, best known for his work on dialectics, Marxism, everyday life, cities, and space.-Biography:...
(1901-1991) was a French sociologist, intellectual and philosopher who was generally considered a Neo-Marxist. - Günther AndersGünther AndersGünther Anders was a Jewish philosopher and journalist who developed a philosophical anthropology for the age of technology, focusing on such themes as the effects of mass media on our emotional and ethical existence, the nuclear threat, the Shoah and the question of being a philosopher.- Biography...
(1902-1992) was a Jewish philosopher and journalist who developed a philosophical anthropology for the age of technology. - Jean-Paul SartreJean-Paul SartreJean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre was a French existentialist philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic. He was one of the leading figures in 20th century French philosophy, particularly Marxism, and was one of the key figures in literary...
(1905-1980) French existentialist philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic. - Salvador AllendeSalvador AllendeSalvador Allende Gossens was a Chilean physician and politician who is generally considered the first democratically elected Marxist to become president of a country in Latin America....
(1908-1973) Former President of Chile. - Raya DunayevskayaRaya DunayevskayaRaya Dunayevskaya was the founder of the philosophy of Marxist Humanism in the United States of America. At one time Leon Trotsky's secretary, she later split with him and ultimately founded the organization News and Letters Committees and was its leader until her death.-Biography:Of Jewish...
(1910-1987) founder of the philosophy of Marxist Humanism in the United States of America. - Christopher Hill (historian)Christopher Hill (historian)John Edward Christopher Hill , usually known simply as Christopher Hill, was an English Marxist historian and author of textbooks....
(1912-2003) English Marxist historian. - Lucien GoldmannLucien GoldmannLucien Goldmann was a French philosopher and sociologist of Jewish-Romanian origin...
(1913-1970) French philosopher and sociologist of Jewish-Romanian origin. - Paulo FreirePaulo FreirePaulo Reglus Neves Freire was a Brazilian educator and influential theorist of critical pedagogy.-Biography:...
(1921-1997) Brazilian educator and influential theorist of critical pedagogy. - André GorzAndré GorzAndré Gorz , pen name of Gérard Horst, born Gerhard Hirsch, also known by his pen name Michel Bosquet, was an Austrian and French social philosopher. Also a journalist, he co-founded Le Nouvel Observateur weekly in 1964...
(1923-2007) Austrian and French social philosopher. - E. P. ThompsonE. P. ThompsonEdward Palmer Thompson was a British historian, writer, socialist and peace campaigner. He is probably best known today for his historical work on the British radical movements in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, in particular The Making of the English Working Class...
(1924-1993) English historian, socialist and peace campaigner. - Frantz FanonFrantz FanonFrantz Fanon was a Martiniquo-Algerian psychiatrist, philosopher, revolutionary and writer whose work is influential in the fields of post-colonial studies, critical theory and Marxism...
(1925-1961) Psychiatrist, philosopher, revolutionary, and author from Martinique. - Ivan SvitákIvan SvitákIvan Sviták was a Czech philosopher, critic, and poet who ranked among Europe's most prominent proponents of Marxist humanism. In a vast oeuvre of essays, Sviták addressed questions of democracy and socialism, of art in bureaucratic and consumer societies, and of the "unbearable burden" of...
(1925-1994) Czech social critic and aesthetic theorist. - Karel KosíkKarel KosíkKarel Kosík was a Czech Neomarxist philosopher. In his most famous philosophical work Dialectics of the Concrete Kosík presents an original synthesis of Martin Heidegger's version of phenomenology and the ideas of Young Marx...
(1926-2003) Czech philosopher, synthesized phenomenology and humanistic MarxismMarxismMarxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
. - Wang RuoshuiWang RuoshuiWang Ruoshui , was a Chinese journalist and philosopher, major exponent of Marxist humanism in China and of Chinese liberalism.Wang studied philosophy in the late 1940s, converting to Marxism and joining the Communist Party prior to the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949...
(1926-2002) Chinese journalist and philosopher. - John BergerJohn BergerJohn Peter Berger is an English art critic, novelist, painter and author. His novel G. won the 1972 Booker Prize, and his essay on art criticism Ways of Seeing, written as an accompaniment to a BBC series, is often used as a university text.-Education:Born in Hackney, London, England, Berger was...
(b. 1926) English art critic, novelist, painter and author. - Leszek Kołakowski (1927-2009) Polish philosopher and historian of ideas.
- Che GuevaraChe GuevaraErnesto "Che" Guevara , commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist...
(1928-1967) Argentine revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist. - David McReynoldsDavid McReynoldsDavid McReynolds is an American democratic socialist and pacifist activist who described himself as "a peace movement bureaucrat" during his 40-year career with Liberation magazine and the War Resisters League...
(b. 1929) American democratic socialist and pacifist activist. - Frankfurt SchoolFrankfurt SchoolThe Frankfurt School refers to a school of neo-Marxist interdisciplinary social theory, particularly associated with the Institute for Social Research at the University of Frankfurt am Main...
(1930s onwards) The Frankfurt School is a school of neo-Marxist critical theory, social research, and philosophy. - Marshall BermanMarshall BermanMarshall Berman is an American philosopher and Marxist Humanist writer. He is currently Distinguished Professor of Political Science at The City College of New York and at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, teaching Political Philosophy and Urbanism.-Biography:An alumnus of...
(b. 1940) American Marxist Humanist writer and philosopher. - Peter McLarenPeter McLarenPeter McLaren is a Professor in the Division of Urban Schooling, the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, University of California, Los Angeles . He is the author and editor of forty-five books and hundreds of scholarly articles and chapters...
(b. 1948) one of the leading architects of critical pedagogy. - News and Letters CommitteesNews and Letters CommitteesNews and Letters Committees is a small, revolutionary-socialist organization in the United States. It is the world's most prominent Marxist-Humanist organization....
(1950s onwards) is a small, revolutionary-socialist organization in the United States. It is the world's most prominent Marxist-Humanist organization. - Lewis GordonLewis GordonLewis Ricardo Gordon is an American philosopher who works in the areas of Africana philosophy, philosophy of human and life sciences, phenomenology, philosophy of existence, social and political theory, postcolonial thought, theories of race and racism, philosophies of liberation, aesthetics,...
(b. 1962) Black American philosopher. - Nigel GibsonNigel GibsonNigel Gibson is an activist, a scholar specializing in philosophy and a noted author. He was born in London and was an active militant in the 1984 -1985 Miners' Strike. While in London he also met South African exiles from the Black Consciousness Movement and, in conversation with the exiles,...
British & American philosopher - Praxis SchoolPraxis SchoolThe Praxis school was a Marxist humanist philosophical movement. It originated in Zagreb and Belgrade in the SFR Yugoslavia, during the 1960s.Prominent figures among the school's founders include Gajo Petrović and Milan Kangrga of Zagreb and Mihailo Marković of Belgrade...
(1960s and 1970s) Marxist humanist philosophical movement. It originated in Zagreb and Belgrade in the SFR Yugoslavia.
See also
- Karl MarxKarl MarxKarl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
- MarxismMarxismMarxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
- Autonomist Marxism
- Structure and agencyStructure and agencyThe question over the primacy of either structure or agency in human behavior is a central debate in the social sciences. In this context, "agency" refers to the capacity of individuals to act independently and to make their own free choices. "Structure", by contrast, refers to the recurrent...
- Orthodox MarxismOrthodox MarxismOrthodox Marxism is the term used to describe the version of Marxism which emerged after the death of Karl Marx and acted as the official philosophy of the Second International up to the First World War and of the Third International thereafter...
- LuxemburgismLuxemburgismLuxemburgism is a specific revolutionary theory within Marxism, based on the writings of Rosa Luxemburg. According to M. K...
- SubjectivitySubjectivitySubjectivity refers to the subject and his or her perspective, feelings, beliefs, and desires. In philosophy, the term is usually contrasted with objectivity.-Qualia:...
- Frankfurt SchoolFrankfurt SchoolThe Frankfurt School refers to a school of neo-Marxist interdisciplinary social theory, particularly associated with the Institute for Social Research at the University of Frankfurt am Main...
- DialecticDialecticDialectic is a method of argument for resolving disagreement that has been central to Indic and European philosophy since antiquity. The word dialectic originated in Ancient Greece, and was made popular by Plato in the Socratic dialogues...
- Historical MaterialismHistorical materialismHistorical materialism is a methodological approach to the study of society, economics, and history, first articulated by Karl Marx as "the materialist conception of history". Historical materialism looks for the causes of developments and changes in human society in the means by which humans...
- New LeftNew LeftThe New Left was a term used mainly in the United Kingdom and United States in reference to activists, educators, agitators and others in the 1960s and 1970s who sought to implement a broad range of reforms, in contrast to earlier leftist or Marxist movements that had taken a more vanguardist...
External links
- Marxist-Humanist Initiative
- Marxist Humanism, subject index
- Raya Dunayevskaya Archive
- Libertarian Communist Library Marxist Humanism holdings
- C L R James Archive
- News & Letters, the Newspaper
- Socialist Party USASocialist Party USAThe Socialist Party USA is a multi-tendency democratic-socialist party in the United States. The party states that it is the rightful continuation and successor to the tradition of the Socialist Party of America, which had lasted from 1901 to 1972.The party is officially committed to left-wing...
- contains a Marxist-Humanist current. Socialist Humanism is mentioned in its handbook. - The Hobgoblin, a Journal of Marxist-Humanism
- U.S. Marxist-Humanists official website
- Marxist-Humanist Dialectics