Enrique Dussel, "The Theological Metaphors of Marx" (Duke UP, 2024)–A Conversation with Camilo Pérez-Bustillo and Eduardo Mendieta

Aug 16, 2025

In this engaging conversation, Camilo Pérez-Bustillo, a human rights educator, and Eduardo Mendieta, a philosopher, delve into Enrique Dussel's groundbreaking work, which intertwines Marxist and theological concepts. They unpack how Dussel critiques capitalism as a form of idolatry and explore Marx's nuanced relationship with religion. The discussion also highlights Dussel's influence on liberation theology and the challenges of reconciling faith with social justice. Their insights breathe new life into Marxist thought, emphasizing its relevance for contemporary issues.

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INSIGHT

Recovering Marx's Theological Roots

Enrique Dussel recovered Marx's theological language to show Marx retained a fundamental commitment to life and critique of oppression.
Dussel reads Marx's early writings as using theological metaphors methodologically, not as simple atheism versus religion.

ANECDOTE

Translator Reflects On Working With Dussel

Camilo Pérez-Bustillo recounts working with Dussel at Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana and translating his major works into English.
He describes translating The Ethics of Liberation and completing Dussel's late-career project as a form of closure.

INSIGHT

Marx's Theological Dimension Revealed

Dussel shifted from rejecting Marx as a totalizing thinker to seeing Marx's use of theological categories as central.
His archival work in Berlin revealed theological dimensions guiding Marx's critique of political economy.

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The Theological Metaphors of Marx (Duke UP, 2024) by Enrique Dussel – A Conversation with Camilo Pérez-Bustillo and Eduardo Mendieta

In The Theological Metaphors of Marx, Enrique Dussel provides a groundbreaking combination of Marxology, theology, and ethical theory. Dussel shows that Marx unveils the theology of capitalism in his critique of commodity fetishization. Capitalism constitutes an idolatry of the commodity that undergirds the capitalist expropriation of labor. Dussel examines Marx’s early writings on religion and fetishism and proceeds through what Dussel refers to as the four major drafts of Capital, ultimately situating Marx’s philosophical, economic, ethical, and historical insights in relation to the theological problems of his time. Dussel notes a shift in Marx’s underlying theological schema from a political critique of the state to an economic critique of the commodity fetish as the Devil, or anti-God, of modernity. Marx’s thought, impact, and influence cannot be fully understood without Dussel’s historic reinterpretation of the theological origins and implications of Marx’s critiques of political economy and politics.

Enrique Dussel (1934–2023) was Emeritus Professor, Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana-Iztapalapa, and the author of many books, including Twenty Theses on Politics and Ethics of Liberation: In the Age of Globalization and Exclusion, both also published by Duke University Press.
Camilo Pérez-Bustillo is coauthor of Human Rights, Hegemony, and Utopia in Latin America.
Eduardo Mendieta is Professor of Philosophy and Latina/o Studies at Pennsylvania State University.

Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature.

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