Pill Pod 115 - Althusser and Structuralist Marxism
Mar 17, 2023
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Explore Althusser's unique perspective on Marxism, critiques of traditional theory, and influence on European Marxist community. Delve into materialist lens, symptomatic reading, and over-determination in Marxism. Discuss new Marxist thinkers, value creation, economic determinism critique, and complex causation in Marxism. Conclude with gratitude for a productive conversation and humorous touch, along with AI in audio industry and Chumba Casino advertisements.
Althusser emphasizes over-determination in historical events to challenge simplistic Marxist interpretations.
Structuralist method focuses on analyzing production within societal structures through ideological state apparatuses.
Althusser's critique promotes a nuanced understanding of history, rejecting deterministic narratives for complex societal analyses.
Deep dives
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Althusser's Critique of Marxist Theory Simplification
The podcast delves into Louis Althusser's critique of traditional Marxist theory, challenging the oversimplification of historical events and societal structures. Althusser's emphasis on over-determination rejects the notion of reducing complex historical events or social structures to simplistic interpretations. By highlighting the intricate interplay of multiple contradictions shaping historical developments, Althusser advocates for a nuanced understanding of history and society beyond conventional Marxist frameworks.
Structuralist Approach to Understanding History and Ideology
The episode explores Althusser's structuralist method in analyzing history, emphasizing the importance of examining production individually within societal structures. Althusser's critique of ideological state apparatuses focuses on how individuals are embedded in ideology from birth, shaping their perceptions and roles in society. By urging a symptomatic reading approach, Althusser encourages theorists to look beyond surface meanings and delve into the underlying conditions and contradictions that influence historical events and societal dynamics.
Ultimate Complexity of Historical Interpretations
Althusser's perspective challenges the notion of simplistic historical interpretations by highlighting the infinite complexity inherent in analyzing historical events. Over-determination theory elucidates the intricate confluences of multiple contradictions shaping historical outcomes, steering away from reductionist approaches. By questioning deterministic narratives and emphasizing the intricate nuances of historical contexts, Althusser presents a profound critique of conventional historical and Marxist analyses, advocating for a more nuanced and holistic understanding of complex societal phenomena.
Historical Analysis and Revolutionary Subjects
The podcast delves into the concept of historical analysis and the identification of revolutionary subjects in complex social and labor situations, drawing parallels between the intense overdetermination observed in historical contexts like Russia and the current situation in the United States. It discusses the evolution of the revolutionary subject from traditional working-class definitions to newer emerging identities, emphasizing the idea that events create subjectivities rather than vice versa. Furthermore, it critiques the notion of historical determinism and explores the relationship between economic forces and social change, highlighting the nuanced interplay between production, exchange, and societal transformations.
Complex Causation and Totality
The episode explores the intricacies of complex causation and over-determination in social, political, and economic processes, rejecting singular causation and advocating for a nuanced understanding of historical development. It challenges traditional Marxist perspectives on economic determinism by emphasizing the multifaceted nature of causation within various societal structures. The discussion touches on the limitations of dualistic thinking and proposes a holistic viewpoint of totality as a syncretic confluence of heterogeneous fragments from different historical periods, highlighting the contested and conflicted nature of social realities as a battlefield of ideas and contradictions.
Erik and Pills duo on Althusser, reading "Contradiction and Overdetermination" from the book For Marx. We read this anticipating a couple episodes trying to figure out what "post-marxism" could mean, and we don't want to strawman, and this is one of my (Pills') favourite bites attempting to delineate what Marxist theory can and cannot aspire to.
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