This article is about the political philosophy that reinterprets Marxism. For the study of formerly socialist states, seePostsocialism. For the economic and political transformations that occurred in certain countries as a result of the fall of their communist governments, seePost-communism.
Post-Marxism first originated in the late 1970s, and several trends and events of that period influenced its development.[38] The weakness of theSoviet Union andEastern Bloc paradigm became evident after the so called "secret speech" and the followinginvasion of Hungary, which split the radical left irreparably.[39] Marxism from then on faced a crisis of credibility, resulting in various developments in Marxist theory, particularlyneo-Marxism, which theorised against much of the Eastern Bloc.[40] This happened concurrently with the occurrence internationally of thestrikes and occupations of 1968, the rise ofMaoist theory, and the proliferation ofcommercial television and later information technologies which covered in its broadcasts theVietnam War.
Post-Marxism, although with its roots in thisNew Left and the consequentpost-structural moment in France,[41] has its real genesis in reaction to the hegemony ofneoliberalism, and defeat of the Left in such events as the UKminers' strike. Ernesto Laclau argued that a Marxism for the neoliberalconjuncture required a fundamental reworking, to address the failures of both.[42] Subsequently, Laclau and Mouffe address the proliferation of "new subject positions" by locating their analysis on a non-essentialist framework.
Simultaneously, revolutionaries in Italy, known as Operaismo, and laterautonomists,[43] began to theorise against the conservativeItalian Communist Party,[44] focusing much more on labour, gender and the later works of Marx. In France, radicals such asFélix Guattari redefined oldLacanian models of desire and subjectivity, which had often been tied to the communist project, bringingNietzsche into conversation with Marx.[45][46] In theEastern Bloc, theBudapest School[47] began reinterpreting Marx, building on the work of thePraxis School before them.[48] In West Germany, theoristsreinterpreted Marx's works entirely from aHegelian dialectical perspective.
Post-Marxism also has different connotations withinradical feminist theory. The wayCatharine MacKinnon uses the term post-Marxism is not based on post-structuralism. She says "feminism worthy of the name absorbs and moves beyond marxist methodology",[52] meaning that Marxism is not to be left behind but built on.
Currently, figures in the US, UK, and Europe continue to produce work in the post-Marxist tradition, particularlyNancy Fraser,Alain Badiou, Jeremy Gilbert andÉtienne Balibar. This theory is often very different from that produced by Laclau and Mouffe, and much of the Left has turned against the Post-Marxist turn.[53][54]
Despite being born in Latin America and the Eastern Bloc, post-Marxism is largely produced by theorists of theGlobal North, as the following criticisms reveal. Aside from perhaps Spivak, there are no notable theorists of the Global South[55] who are within the post-Marxist tradition,[56] and the radical movements of the Global South largely remain within the 'Old Left' tradition.[57] Several reasons relating to political geography and level of academisation are given as explanations. There is some debate however as to whetherCedric Robinson was a post-Marxist.[58]
Despite this, theZapatistas have been a large source of inspiration for many post-Marxists.[59]
Post-Marxism has been criticised from both the left and the right wings of Marxism.[60] Nick Thoburn has criticised Laclau's post-Marxism (and its relationship toEurocommunism) as essentially a rightward shift tosocial democracy.[61]Ernest Mandel[62] andSivanandan[63][64] make this same point.Richard Wolff also claims that Laclau's formulation of post-Marxism is a step backward.[65] Oliver Eagleton (son ofTerry Eagleton) claims that Mouffe's 'radical democracy' has an inherent conservative nature.[66]
Other Marxists have criticisedautonomist Marxism or post-operaismo, a form of post-Marxism, of having a theoretically weak understanding ofvalue in capitalist economies.[67] It has also been criticised by other Marxists for beinganti-humanist / anti–Hegelian dialectical.[68]
Post-Marxism as a term is also seen as being too imprecise, often used as an insult[73] or astraw man. Besides Laclau and Mouffe, very few Marxists describe themselves as post-Marxists, regardless of their own affinities withpost-structuralist theories or their reinterpretation of Marx.[74] There is also much disagreement between post-Marxists on fundamental questions of strategy and philosophy (Hegel orSpinoza, for example); some forward aleft-populism, others a complete rejection oforganised politics, and others a newLeninist vanguard.
^Callinicos, Alex (2022).Routledge Handbook of Marxism and Post-Marxism (1st ed.). Routledge.
^Arditi, Benjamin (September 2007). "Post-hegemony: politics outside the usual post-Marxist paradigm".Contemporary Politics.13 (3):205–226.doi:10.1080/13569770701467411.S2CID154296914.
^Sim, Stuart (2022).Reflections on Post-Marxism: Laclau and Mouffe's Project of Radical Democracy in the 21st Century. Policy Press.ISBN978-1-5292-2183-1.[page needed]
^Mclean, Ian; Mcmillan, Alistair (2003)The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Politics (Article: State). Oxford University Press.
^Ritzer, George; Schubert, J. Daniel (1991). "The Changing Nature of Neo-Marxist Theory: A Metatheoretical Analysis".Sociological Perspectives.34 (3):359–375.doi:10.2307/1389516.JSTOR1389516.S2CID146959219.
^McKenna, Tony (3 April 2014). "Against Post-Marxism: How Post-Marxism Annuls Class-Based Historicism and the Possibility of Revolutionary Praxis".International Critical Thought.4 (2):142–159.doi:10.1080/21598282.2014.906538.S2CID144911344.
^Meyerson, Gregory; San Juan, E. Jr. (2009). "Post-Marxism as Compromise Formation".Cultural Logic: Journal of Marxist Theory & Practice.16.doi:10.14288/clogic.v16i0.191554.
^Schueller, Malini Johar (July 2009). "DECOLONIZING GLOBAL THEORIES TODAY: Hardt and Negri, Agamben, Butler".Interventions.11 (2):235–254.doi:10.1080/13698010903053303.S2CID142580442.
^Amin, Samir (1 November 2014)."Monthly Review | Contra Hardt and Negri".Monthly Review. Topics: Globalization Imperialism Marxism Places: Global Syria Ukraine. Retrieved15 May 2023.
^Peters, Michael A (2022). "Poststructuralism and the Post-Marxist Critique of Knowledge Capitalism: A Personal Account".Review of Contemporary Philosophy.21:21–37.doi:10.22381/RCP2120222.ProQuest2727237244.
^Harrison, Oliver (2016).Revolutionary Subjectivity in Post-Marxist Thought: Laclau, Negri, Badiou. Routledge.ISBN978-1-317-06333-9.[page needed]
^Browning, Gary K. (June 2005). "A globalist ideology of post-Marxism? Hardt and Negri's Empire".Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy.8 (2):193–208.doi:10.1080/13698230500108876.S2CID143556108.
Fisher, M. (2009).Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative? Winchester: Zero Books.
Galfarsoro, Imanol (2012). "(Post)Marxismoa, kultura eta eragiletasuna: Ibilbide historiko labur bat" [(Post) Marxism, Culture and Effectiveness: A Brief Historical Journey]. In Aizpuru, Alaitz (ed.).Euskal Herriko pentsamenduaren gida [A guide to thinking in the Basque Country] (in Basque). Bilbo: UEU.ISBN978-84-8438-435-9.
Sim, Stuart (2002).Post-Marxism: An Intellectual History. Routledge studies in social and political thought. New York; London:Routledge.ISBN0-203-18616-8.
Thoburn, Nick (2003).Deleuze, Marx, and Politics. Routledge
Tormey, Simon; Townshend, Jules (2006).Key Thinkers from Critical Theory to Post-Marxism. Pine Forge Press.
