Marxian economic theory and an ontology of socialism: A Japanese intervention
Richard Westra
The most enduring aspect of the economic studies of Marx is the exposition in Capital of the inner anatomy of capitalism as the limit form of what a human society should not be-that is a commodified society which abdicates the responsibility for the reproduction of human material existence to something that transcends human force. Deriving from this perspective on Capital is the position that socialism, at least in its most fundamental incarnation, should not be considered as being institutionally prefigured by capitalism, but as the antithesis of capitalism in that regard. Given such an understanding of socialism, I derive three core principles of what I call an ontology of socialism from Marx's work in Capital. I then briefly outline what adherence to the principles implies for the issues of calculation, motivation and discovery in the construction of a genuine socialism.
The most enduring aspect of the economic studies of Marx is the exposition in Capital of the inner anatomy of capitalism as the limit form of what a human society should not be-that is a commodified society which abdicates the responsibility for the reproduction of human material existence to something that transcends human force. Deriving from this perspective on Capital is the position that socialism, at least in its most fundamental incarnation, should not be considered as being institutionally prefigured by capitalism, but as the antithesis of capitalism in that regard. Given such an understanding of socialism, I derive three core principles of what I call an ontology of socialism from Marx's work in Capital. I then briefly outline what adherence to the principles implies for the issues of calculation, motivation and discovery in the construction of a genuine socialism.
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