Critical and NeoMarxist Theory

1
Critical and Neo-Marxist Theory

• The Frankfurt School
• The Ideas of Jurgen Habermas
• Gramscis Hegemony
• Wallertsteins Historical Marxism

2
Intellectual Roots

• Early critical theorists drew on Marx (especially
  concept of alienation)
• Also influenced by ideas of Hegel, Nietzsche, and
  Freud
• Emphasized link between macro-level processes
  such as culture and effects on individual psyche
  and consciousness

3
Frankfurt School (1923)

• Ideas developed by Max Horkheimer, Theodor
  Adorno, Herbert Marcuse, and Erich Fromm
• Two main ideas
• 1. all ideas influenced by the current times and
  by prevailing thought patterns
• 2. cannot separate facts and values need to be
  self-reflexive and self-critical and develop a
  critical stance toward society

4
Frankfurt School (cont.)

• Linked culture to personality formation
• Looked at how ideology of capitalism and
  alienation warp the individual personality
• Developed critique of mass cultur e
• Noted use of popular culture to manipulate
  individuals
• Standardization of taste
• Distraction from real world
• Encourages passiveness

5
Jurgen Habermas (1929 - )

• Studied philosophy
• In 1956 became Theodor Adornos assistant at
  Heidelberg
• Adorno wrote The Authoritarian Personality
  1950 linked prejudice and anti-Semitism to
  authoritarianism
• Habermas became chair of philosophy at Frankfurt
  1964

6
Habermas (cont.)

• Put Marxs ideas into critical framework
• Shift from materialism to idealism
• Added Webers rationalization, Durkheims
  consensus, Parsons value generalization
• Emphasis on communicative action and the
  generation of ideology

7
Legitimation Crisis (1975)

• Society developed through qualitatively different
  stages
• Primitive
• Traditional Civilizations
• Modern Civilizations
• Class Societies Capitalist Liberal
• - Organized Capitalist Post-Capitalist
• Post-Modern

8
Legitimation Crisis (cont.)

• Marx said change developed out of contradictions
  in material base
• But Habermas says change occurs out of
  contradictions in ideas and how they are
  legitimated through norms and values
• Legitimation new set of norms and values used
  to justify the system
• Consensus breakdown societal crisis

9
Legitimation Crisis (cont.)

• Traditional societies breakdown of religious
  norms and values led to idea of rational exchange
  between equals
• Early liberal capitalism doubts re market
  ideology of led to organized capitalism
• Need for formal legitimations based on reason
  and rationality
• legitimation crisis occurs

10
Legitimation Crisis (cont.)

• Legitimation part of socialization process in
  lifeworld through communicative action
• The norms we use to justify the truthfulness of
  our communicative acts are the same norms that
  are used to justify the system
• Change in legitimation system change in
  lifeworld
• Increasing rationalization
• Necessitates consensus about norms (Durkheim) and
  value generalization (Parsons)

11
Reason and Rationality

• Two types of action and rationalization
• 1. purposive-rational action using means-end
  rationality
• 2. communicative action using reason
• First type used by capitalist system
• Now we need to move to second type

12
Communicative Action

• Ideal speech no barriers (i.e. coercion)
• Consensus about truth developed through
  communication process
• Ideal speech has 4 criteria
• 1. understandability of utterances
• 2. truth of utterances
• 3. reliability and sincerity of speaker
• 4. authority (right to offer ideas)

13
Criticism of Habermas

• Too idealistic
• Total consensus impossible
• Do all speakers have equal ability?
• How will conflict be handled?

14
Marxism and Neo-Marxism

• Variants of Marxism
• Hegelian Marxism (Antonio Gramsci)
• Neo-Marxian Economic Theory (Braverman)
• Fordism and Post-Fordism
• Historical Marxism
• Analytical Marxism
• Post-Modern Marxian Theory (Laclau / Mouffe)

15
Gramsci and Hegemony

• Italian Marxist
• Co-founder of Italian Marxist Party
• Analyzed political situation in Italy
• The Prison Notebooks 1929-1935
• Cultural leadership and domination used by ruling
  party of a society
• Domination through ideology rather than force

16
Hegemony

• Hegemony uniting persuasion from above with
  consent from belowit is done by the dominant and
  collaborated in by the dominated
• Intellectuals need to ally selves with
  revolutionary party rather than ruling party to
  lead masses to power

17
Immanuel Wallerstein and World Systems Theory

• Extension of Marxs historical materialism
• Looks at global historical change rather than
  societal historical change
• Two world systems so far
• 1. World Empire
• - political and military domination
• 2. Modern Capitalist World Economy
• - global economic division of labour

18
Modern Capitalist World Economy

• Core countries
• -Exploit rest of system
• - free labour market skilled and supervisory
• Semi Periphery
• - has industry set up by core
• - sharecropping
• 3. Periphery
• - provide raw materials and labour for core

19
Future World System

• Socialist world government
• All labour will be free labour