Marx: A Radical Critique MARX A Radical Critique Alan Carter Lecturer in Political Theory University College Dublin WESTVIEW PRESS Boulder, Colorado MOORHEAD STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY MOORHEAD, MINNESOTA First published in Great Britain in 1988 by WHEATSHEAF BOOKS LIMITED © Alan Brian Carter, 1988 Published in 1988 in the United States by WESTVIEW PRESS Frederick A. Prager, Publisher 5500 Central Avenue Boulder, Colorado 80301 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Carter, Alan B. Marx, a radical critique Bibliography: p. 1. Marx, Karl, 1818-1883. 2. Communism. I. Title. HX39.5.C325 1987 335.4'092'4 87-27414 ISBN 0-8133-0651-5 Typeset in Times llpt Printed in Great Britain All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. This book is dedicated to the memory of John, whose imagination was an inspiration. On the day they join us, The world will live as one. Contents List of Figures ix List of Tables x Acknowledgements xi Abbreviations xiii INTRODUCTION 1. From a Radical Point of View 3 1.1 The schools of Marxist thought 6 1.2 Marx and Hegel 8 1.3 The libertarian communist vision 11 HISTORY 2. Karl Marx’s Theory of History: A Critique 21 2.1 The mechanistic school 21 2.2 The interactionist school 28 2.3 Consciousness and the economic base 32 2.4 An alternative schema 37 2.5 Further aspects of Marx’s theory of revolution 43 2.6 The labour-process 54 2.7 The social implications of technology 59 2.8 Developing the historical schema 66 2.9 The sources of Marx’s errors 71 ECONOMICS 3. Crisis, Value and Profit 83 3.1 Marx’s labour theory of value 84 3.2 The rate of profit 90 3.3 Crises, monopolization and automation 97 3.4 An alternative theory of value 101 vii viii Contents 3.5 Monopolies and the complement theory 104 3.6 The complement theory further refined 109 3.7 The importance of monopolization 114 3.8 Philosophical issues 118 SOCIOLOGY 4. Class, Class Struggle and Class Consciousness 131 4.1 Marx on‘class’ 132 4.2 A single-feature specification of ‘class’ 134 4.3 Status and dominance 141 4.4 Further issues raised by Roemer’s account 146 4.5 A multiple-feature specification of‘class’ 152 4.6 Poulantzas on‘class’ 155 4.7 Lenin and the proletariat 159 4.8 Lukacs and class consciousness 167 4.9 Concluding remarks 174 POLITICS 5. The State and Society 185 5.1 Hegel’s influence on Marx’s theory of the state 187 5.2 Some objections to Marx’s theory 191 5.3 State and class 195 5.4 Lenin’s authoritarian centralism 204 5.5 Qualifications on Lenin’s authoritarianism considered 210 5.6 Bakunin’s critique of Marx 216 5.7 Summation of Marx’s philosophical errors 220 5.8 A contribution to the critique of political economism 228 CONCLUSION 6. A Radical Alternative 239 6.1 Technology, ecology and the Third World 243 6.2 An alternative theoretical approach 250 6.3 A general theory of revolution 254 6.4 The ageing of the Marxist paradigm 262 Appendix 275 Bibliography 281 Index 299 Figures 2.1 The ‘mode of production’ 22 2.2 ‘Contradictions’ in the social formation 49 2.3 The resolution of class conflict 67 3.1 Demand and supply 111 4.1 Varieties of exploitation 144 6.1 Prediction and workers’control 241 6.2 Structure and substructure 252 6.3 Two models of historical transformation 256 IX Tables 3.1 Northern land production before breakthrough 92 3.2 Northern land production after breakthrough 94 3.3 Southern land production after breakthrough 96 100 3.4 Increasing OCK and limited profits 105 3.5 Increasing OCK and unlimited profits X