Neo-Marxism
The term neo-Marxism, different, off the 1920s forming scientific schools of thought and assuming also occasional political currents summarized, which build on the work of Karl Marx, but from a dogmatisierenden interpretation (eg, the "Scientific Socialism " formulated by Karl Kautsky, etc. ) limitations of " Marxist orthodoxy ," Marxism as a " proletarian ideology ."
Overview
Background for the emergence of neo-Marxism were a number of policy developments and problems for which seemed to have no adequate explanations and responses of "Scientific Socialism ": the resolution of the Second International as a result of the support of nationally organized socialist / social democratic parties for their respective State in the First World War; the failure or complete failure of the revolution, although a " revolutionary situation " was diagnosed; the rise of fascist movements. There were problems within the Marxist theory. A new view of Marx's work was also initiated by the publication of previously inaccessible early writings such as Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844 ( 1932). Immersive comments wrote at the time, Herbert Marcuse.
Since there is no closed neo-Marxist movement, no organizations and rarely people that call themselves neo-Marxist, a clear delimitation of belonging to neo-Marxism is difficult, sometimes the use of the term is arbitrary; in the current political debate often general corporate capitalism or critical positions are non-specific - then mostly meant as a negative rating - referred to as neo-Marxist. Also, a unified theory does not exist, you can only specify general characteristics. A permanent flow in the neo-Marxist radius forms of practical philosophical Marxism, whose name refers back to the Italian Marxist philosopher Antonio Labriola.
The neo-Marxism rejects the deterministic misunderstood historical picture of " traditional Marxism ", after the lead a quasi-natural legal development to revolution and socialism. Emphasized, however, is the importance of social action of the real people ( subjects ), social practice, as well as the special relationship to the philosophical heritage of German idealism, particularly that of Hegel. This gives way to the view that all phenomena can be derived schematically from economic factors ( " economism " ), a more sophisticated approach. Some neo-Marxist directions grab less back on the results of Marx's analysis as to its methods to analyze the changing socio-economic conditions in developed capitalist societies.
Important theoretical impetus for the neo-Marxism came after the First World War by Georg Lukács, Karl Korsch and Antonio Gramsci. From the founded in 1923, the Institute for Social Research in Frankfurt went as an important social science research group produced the Frankfurt school by Max Horkheimer and Theodor W. Adorno, whose Critical theory gained influence, especially after the end of the emigration of the Institute during the period of National Socialism in West Germany.
Herbert Marcuse continued his scientific activity continued in America. He is close to the practical rather philosophical approach and the philosopher Ernst Bloch Through his theoretical orientation and the search for a relationship with the new social movements.
Be attributed to the neo-Marxism of the French theorist Henri Lefebvre and the philosopher and historian Lucien Febvre. By trying to combine Marxism and existentialism, also Jean -Paul Sartre joined the neo-Marxist discourse.
In the UK, a group of Marxists who had left after the suppression of the uprising in Hungary from the Communist Party of Great Britain was formed to the New Left Review ( including EP Thompson, Perry Anderson).
As in the countries of " real socialism " the State parties, the interpretation monopoly on Marx's work claimed, the Neomarximus could at first only in the Western capitalist countries develop ( " Western Marxism " ), mainly as an academic discipline in universities outside the Western communist parties. With the Yugoslav practice group was formed in the mid-1960s, an openly neo-Marxist theory school in a socialist country. Their international conferences and the journal practice (1965-1974) became a focal point unorthodox Marxist thinking in Europe.
About Critical Theory and Ernst Bloch and Herbert Marcuse had a lasting influence on Think neomarxistisches the '68 student movement in Germany.