Marx's Concept of the Alternative to Capitalism

Hudis (philosophy, Loyola U.) argues that though Marx was wary of speculating about social-life after capitalism, a discernible and even necessary concept of it nonetheless informs his critique of value-production. He critically examines how the content of Marx's analysis of capitalism--namely, value-production and wage-labor--reveals an implicit understanding of what society will look like after having transcended value-production. He considers both what he calls objectivist and subjectivist approaches, which respectively indicate whether one sees Capital-as-supersubject or human agency as sources of Marx's alternative to capitalism. In the end Hundis argues that Marx prioritizes human agency as the grounding condition for liberated society. Specific chapters explore the transcendence of alienation in his earlier writing, the conception of a post-capitalist society in drafts and published editions of Capital, and Marx's speculations about a post-capitalist society in his response to the Paris Commune and in his Critique of the Gotha Programme. An appendix offers a translation of Marx's notes on "Absolute Spirit" in Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Peter Hudis, Ph.D. (2011) in Philosophy, Loyola University Chicago, is Professor of Humanities and Philosophy, Oakton Community College. He has published extensively on Marxist theory and is General Editor of The Complete Works of Rosa Luxemburg.