Neo-Marxism

Orthodox Marxism

Orthodox Marxism focuses on political economy, exploring the contradictions inherent between the base (the means of production) and the superstructure (conditions of material life), particularly in a capitalist economy. The characteristics of the base determine the nature of the superstructure. The development of the forces of production brings them into conflict with the relations of production, and these conflicts are reflected in class struggle. Such conflicts are the basic motive principle of history. Their specific development within capitalism creates not only the economic conditions for revolutionary change, but also its agents, the industrial working class. History is divided into distinct stages or modes of production. The capitalist mode of production is a transitory form, destined to be superseded by a higher socialist stage of society.

Austro-Marxism

The Austro-Marxists, such as Max Adler and Otto Bauer, were particularly inspired by neo-Kantian philosophy of science and then-nascent positivist philosophy that was the rage in Vienna. In the Austro-Marxian perspective, the Marxian system was a system of sociological inquiry, or, rather, a system of economic theory that was embedded in a more general social theory, which gave a central position to economic relationships. In contrast to the Germans, the Austrians were less concerned with the issue of revolutionary strategy and more concerned with the issue of the Marxian theoretical analysis. This permitted them to embrace a quasi-revisionist attitude. The Austro-Marxists were also contemporaries of the then-prominent neoclassical Austrian School and thus were forced to take the theoretical and economic aspects of Marx a bit more seriously and listened to the neoclassical critiques more carefully. Of particular importance were the criticisms on the Marxian theory of value by the neoclassical economists Vilfredo Pareto and Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk. These economists claimed to have detected inconsistencies in Marx's “labor theory of value,” and, in particular, they identified the famous “transformation problem” of converting labor values into prices of production.

Marxist Humanism

Marxist humanism emerged partly as a result of disillusionment with the state socialism of the Eastern European states, including Yugoslavia. It was first articulated by Eduard Bernstein in 1899, who challenged the Marxist idea that economic breakdown was inevitable. Marxist humanists usually base their positions on the early humanist writings of Karl Marx, especially the Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844. The focus on the early works is not exclusive; but generally speaking, Marxist humanism defines itself in opposition to objectivist tendencies in social theory, reflected in orthodox interpretations of historical materialism in which the agent of history is not human beings, but either abstract entities such as “laws of history” or inanimate entities such as “means of production.” Therefore, Marxist humanists [Page 599]emphasize human agency and subjectivity and place greater emphasis on the ethical rather than social-theoretical problems of Marxism.

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