Karl Marx was one of the most perspicacious analysts of social, political, and above all economic inequality. Convinced that the perfection of humanity and its liberation go hand in hand, that they are not a matter of theory but of critique and practice, Marx derived his most incisive insights into politics and the economy from a radical rearticulation of traditional philosophical problems, especially via a criticism of false assertions of equality (esp. legal) that cover over real inequalities.
This seminar proposes a philosophical reading of Marx that introduces students to central concepts (alienation, critique, ideology, historical dialectics, materialism, theory/practice, infrastructure/superstructure, etc.) and gives them the tools to critically engage with his analyses of and proposed remedies for the inequalities generated by capitalism.
Nils SCHOTT
Séminaire
English
Autumn and Spring 2021-2022
Participation and readings 30%, presentation 10 %, three take-home essays 60 % (20 % each)
Session 1: Introduction—From Humanism to Materialism, or: Critique of the Political-Economic Evils of the Nineteenth Century
Karl Marx, “Theses on Feuerbach,” The German Ideology, ed. and trans. C. J. Arthur 121–23 (New York: International Publishers, 1970).
Session 2: The Critique of Religion (Alienation I)
Marx, “On the Jewish Question,” Early Writings, trans. Rodney Livingstone and Gregor Benton, 211–42 (London: Penguin, 1992).
Session 3: The Critique of Law and other Superstructures (Alienation II)
Marx, “A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right,” Early Writings, 57–198, selections.
Sessions 4 and 5: The Evils of Private Property (Alienation III)
Marx, “Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts,” Early Writings, 279–400.
Session 6: From Theoretical to Practical Critique, or: Philosophy vs. Revolution
Marx, “Theses on Feuerbach.”
Marx, The German Ideology, pt. I, selections.
Sessions 7 and 8: The Critique of Ideology, or: The Evils of Liberalism
Marx and Engels, “The Communist Manifesto,” in Later Political Writings, ed. and trans. Terrell Carver, 1–30 (Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1996).
Marx, “Introduction to a Critique of Political Economy,” The German Ideology, 124–51.
Marx, “Preface to a Critique of Political Economy,” in Later Political Writings, 158–62.
Session 9: Foundations of Injustice
Marx, “Forms which Precede Capitalist Production,” Grundrisse, trans. Martin Nicolaus, 471–513 (London: Penguin, 1993).
Sessions 10 and 11: Capitalist Production, or: The Evils of Objectification
Marx, Capital: A Critical Analysis of Capitalist Production, trans. Samuel Moore and Edward Aveling, pt. II, vol. 9 of Karl Marx Friedrich Engels Gesamtausgabe, ed. Waltraud Falk et al. (Berlin: Dietz, 1990), pt. I, ch. 1, pt. III, ch. 8, sect. 3 (recommended: pt. III, ch. 8, and pt. IV, ch. 13)
Marx, [Fragment on Machines,] Grundrisse, 690–712.
Session 12: Toward the Abolition of Evils, or: The Future of Marx's Theory
Marx, “The Critique of the Gotha Program,” Later Political Writings, 208–25.