Marxist Theory and Mental Illness: A Critique of Political Economy

2016 ◽  
pp. 27-67
Author(s):  
Bruce M. Z. Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Marxist Theory

‘The Mute Compulsion of Economic Relations’: Towards a Marxist Theory of the Abstract and Impersonal Power of Capital

2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 3-32
Author(s):  
Søren Mau
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Marxist Theory ◽  
Economic Power ◽  
Distinct Form ◽  
Systematic Theory ◽  
Economic Relations

Abstract According to Marx’s unfinished critique of political economy, capitalist relations of production rely on what Marx refers to in Capital as ‘the mute compulsion of economic relations’. The aim of this article is to demonstrate that this constitutes a distinct form of economic power which cannot be reduced to either ideology or violence, and to provide the conceptual groundwork for a systematic theory of capital’s mute compulsion.

scholarly journals Reflections on Todd Wolfson’s Book “Digital Rebellion: The Birth of the Cyber Left”

2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Fuchs
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Social Movements ◽  
Social Movement ◽  
Media Studies ◽  
Marxist Theory ◽  
Creative Commons

This article presents a review of and reflections on Todd Wolfson’s (2014) book “Digital Rebellion: The Birth of the Cyber Left”. The book criticises the fetishisation of the digital and the neglect of political organisation and the analysis of class and capitalism in recent social movements. I contextualise Wolfson’s work by more broadly discussing the lack of engagement with capitalism, class, Marxist theory and political economy in social movement studies and social movement media studies as well as the naïve and celebratory idealism that results from this orientation and that does not help actual social movements in identifying the problems that their work is confronted with under capitalist conditions. Acknowledgement: This review has been simultaneously published in tripleC: Communication, Capitalism & Critique’s volume 13 and the International Journal of Communication’s volume 9 using Creative Commons licenses that allow the sharing of articles in journals.

For a Marxist Theory of Waste: Seven Remarks

2018 ◽  
pp. 187-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vinay Gidwani
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Marxist Theory ◽  
Human Potential ◽  
Planned Obsolescence

The concept of “waste”, operating in multiple registers, forms the basis for a series of forays into Marx and political economy. The chapter traverses a wide terrain: from over-accumulation of capital that portends economic crisis, to planned obsolescence as a response to under-consumption, to the proliferation of commodity detritus that threatens the ability of contemporary cities to function, to the artful and arduous toils of waste workers who salvage value from discards, to the wanton expenditure of human potential in precarious forms of employment that involve removal or repurposing of waste matter, to the global multiplication of superfluous populations who can be enrolled in populist mobilizations. Ultimately, the chapter wagers that “waste” can be the heterogeneous site for a generative quarrel between Marxist political economy and postcolonial critique.

Methodological implications of Marxian praxis in action research

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 294-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Cunningham
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Action Research ◽  
Human Agency ◽  
Marxist Theory ◽  
Knowledge Generation ◽  
Active Process ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Dominant Ideologies

When considering Karl Marx’s conception of praxis, numerous relations between it and action research come to the surface. These relations are not only important for understanding the roots of action research, but also future directions of the methodology. Marx’s short, but important text, the Theses on Feuerbach, not only constructs the foundation for Marxian praxis, but also can be read as an action research text, for it stands as an example of how to transform knowledge generation into a practical and active process. Moreover, praxis functions as a mode of epistemology and a revolutionary system that espouses human agency. One can further draw connections between Marxian praxis and action research in terms of how praxis requires researchers to be critical of dominant ideologies and methodologies. Therefore, revisiting Marxist theory, particularly its specific conception of praxis, is a crucial exercise for action researchers, particularly in a context where problems associated with the capitalist political economy continue to profoundly affect people’s lives.

Imperialism in Context

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 52-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claude Serfati
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
International Political Economy ◽  
Marxist Theory ◽  
Past Century ◽  
State Institutions ◽  
New Imperialism ◽  
World Economic ◽  
Corporate Elites ◽  
Relative Decline

This article examines the political economy of French imperialism from a critical Marxist perspective. It demonstrates how France has maintained a major role on the international scene, especially militarily, despite experiencing a relative decline in world economic power since the 1990s. In this regard, three features have marked the French imperial project: (1) the core role of state institutions and corporate elites in making French capitalism, and the protracted closeness of the state-capital nexus; (2) the strength of militarism in economic, political, and social realms; and (3) the consolidation of rentier interests not only in the corporate power bloc, but also at a political level. Over the past century, these three dynamics have underpinned and reinforced a particular project of empire in France – one that bears relevance to current debates on globalisation and the ‘new imperialism’. By examining these issues, this paper seeks to further develop the Marxist theory of international political economy.

scholarly journals The Axiology of «Metaphysics of Economy» according to S. N. Bulgakov or in Search of a State-Legal Ideal

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-209
Author(s):  
A V Popova
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
World Economy ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Marxist Theory ◽  
Legal Analysis ◽  
Economic Management ◽  
Legal Doctrine ◽  
Pricing Policy ◽  
The World ◽  
God's Grace

At the present stage of globalization development, the priority in the world economic system remains for the industrialized countries over the so-called agricultural countries. This state of Affairs was justified in the theory of political economy, which became widespread during the XVIII-XX centuries on the basis of comparative historical and comparative legal analysis of the works of the famous philosopher of law, economist, a prominent representative of the idealistic direction of the Russian neoliberal political and legal doctrine of the turn of XIX-XX centuries. Sergey Bulgakov, the author substantiates the need to address his agrarian theory of the world economy. S. N. Bulgakov opposes his own philosophy of economic management, based on the idea of the finiteness of the industrial stage of human civilization and the return to the nature-saving stage. According to him, the industrial stage leads to a decrease in the fertility of the earth, which, in turn, «triggers» the depletion of natural resources of the world. The philosophy of management («sofiology economy») is, on the one hand, in its materiality, as a result of the development of the world, and on the other - as God’s grace, the remuneration of man for his earthly Affairs. In contrast to the Marxist theory of labor value, the philosopher of law proposed a physiocratic theory of rent, suggesting pricing policy on the part of the agricultural sector of the economy. Unlike the theory of political economy, where industrial countries occupy an excellent position in front of agricultural countries, agricultural theory S. N. Bulgakov recognizes the priority of those countries in which there is no effective regulation of the agricultural sector. The author concludes that it is necessary to revise the role of countries engaged in agricultural production, and especially Russia in the world economy, based on the philosophical and legal heritage of S. N. Bulgakov.

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