Capitalism as a space of reasons: Analytic, neo-Hegelian Marxism?

Abstract

I suggest that we can read Marx in the light of recent analytic, neo-Hegelian thought. I summarize the Pittsburgh School philosophers’ claims about the myth of the given, the claim that human experience is conceptual all the way out, and that we live in a space of reasons. I show how Hegel has been read in those terms, and then apply that reading of Hegel to Marx’s argument that capital is akin to what Hegel called Geist, or spirit. We can understand capitalism as a space of reasons that is contradictory: while the space of reasons is supposed to make human freedom possible, our space of reasons makes freedom impossible. Reading Marx in this way is helpful, because it avoids the flaws of analytical Marxism, existentialism and structuralism. However, it raises a large problem of its own: Can the theory of the space of reasons be applied to a society that is not free of alienation? I argue that it can, but only in ways that would not satisfy the analytic neo-Hegelians themselves.

Analysis on the Construction and Realization of Cultivation Mechanism of Young Marxists in Colleges and Universities in the Internet Era

“…Cultivating the young generation into socialist builders and successors with all-round development in morality, intelligence, physical fitness, and aesthetics is a major strategic task concerning the future destiny of the Party and the country, and it is the common political responsibility of the whole Party [5][6]. Youth is the aggregate of the future power and the actual power of social development, and with the continuation of the comprehensive deepening reform and the proposal of higher-level strategic goals, the future development and construction of China still need to rely on the young generation [7][8][9]. The cultivation of young Marxists in colleges and universities in the new era is related to the long-term stability of the socialist cause, is the core project of the new stage of the development of the Party and the country, and is the centralized embodiment of the national will.…”