Marxism

Question 1

Where to Situate Classical Marxism:

Answer 1

Marx as Marx wrote Marx: Foundational ontology, mixed epistemology, critical realism.
Economic determinism, materialism, and “false consciousness” mark classical Marxism as ontologically foundationalist.
Epistemologically, it follows a mixed profile, combining critical realism.
Social/political phenomena and structures can explain behavior, shared with positivists.
Not all relevant phenomena can be directly observed/measured, aligning with interpretivists.

Question 2

Capitalism as Rising Exploitation:

Answer 2

Capitalism as a mode of production where the bourgeoisie exploits the proletariat.
The drive for profit leads to ever greater total wealth and extreme exploitation.

Question 3

Capitalism as Rising Alienation:

Answer 3

Alienation from products of labor, from each other, and from the workers’ species-being.
Specialization contributes to alienation.

Question 4

Economic Materialism (Social Science Marxist):

Answer 4

The economic base determines the superstructure (political, legal, ideological, and cultural).
Capitalist economic base includes the mode of production and technologies.
False consciousness: The ruling class’s ideas dominate, promoting ideology against the proletariat’s objective interests.

Question 5

What is Historical Materialism? And the relation to Revolution?

Answer 5

The history of society is the history of class struggles.
Communism requires capitalism.
Rising wealth and exploitation lead to rising alienation, sparking a socialist revolution.

Question 6

Classical Marxism Recap:

Answer 6

Follows foundationalist ontology and critical realist epistemology.
Marx’s materialism, economic determinism, and “false consciousness” reflect an ontologically foundationalist approach.
Challenged by events like the Russian Revolution and thinkers like Gramsci.

Question 7

The Russian Revolution 1917-1923

Answer 7

Mensheviks vs. Bolsheviks on the readiness for a socialist revolution.
Bolsheviks emphasized the role of contingency, Mensheviks saw a skipping. of industrial capitalism.
Socialism’s relation to capitalism questioned.

Question 8

Gramsci and Hegemony:

Answer 8

Gramsci elevated the importance of ideology.
Ideological control by the bourgeoisie through hegemony.
Focus on ideology allows more scope for revolutionary agency.

Question 9

Marx(ism) and (Inter)nationalism:

Answer 9

Marx and Engels predicted capitalism eroding nationalism.
Support for internationalism became conditional based on geopolitical factors.
Marxist support for national self-determination in the post-colonial context.
Imperialism, globalization, and core-periphery relations in Marxist analysis.

Question 10

Relation between Marxism and Post-colonialism (and tension)

Answer 10

Some post-colonial actors embraced Marxist or neo-Marxist perspectives.
Analyzing colonial relations through concepts like alienation, false-consciousness, and hegemony.
Tension between Marxist historical materialism/universalism and intersectional perspectives in post-colonial contexts.