The great interpreter: images of O.R. Tambo

Paper presented at the Wits History Workshop: Democracy, Popular Precedents, Practice and Culture, 13-15 July, 1994

Materialismo y finitud: El marxismo de Terry Eagleton

This essay focuses on the change of emphasis–already announced in The Ideology of the Aesthetic (1997) and evident in Sweet Violence (2003)–that took place in Eagleton’s writing at the turn of the century: from showing a historicist scepticism about universals to advocating acknowledgment of human creatureliness (frailty, suffering, death) without which any political project would fail. This change coincided with an approach to a Thomist version of the Christian religion that reflected the influence on Eagleton of his friend the Dominican Herbert McCabe and with a profound interest in Jacques Lacan. The article argues that this change did not affect Eagleton’s Marxist faith or imply shunning political action. Rather, the turn concerned the materialist basis of Eagleton’s proposal of a just life. The appeal to existential forces entailed, on the one hand, a critique of left historicism and of the postmodern cult of culture and relativism and, on the other, an attempt to reinforce a Marxist critique of capitalism and the resistance against fundamentalism, Nihilism, and consumerism. To propose his idea of the just life Eagleton appropriates both the notion of Christian charity–the idea of self-realization through love and solidarity–together with the Thomist conception of morality rooted in the body, and Lacan’s imperative “do not give up on desire”.Este ensayo se centra en el cambio de énfasis -ya anunciado en La estética como ideología (1997) y evidente en Dulce violencia (2003)- que se produjo en la escritura de Eagleton en el cambio de siglo: de mostrar un escepticismo historicista acerca de los universales a abogar por el reconocimiento de la criatura humana (la fragilidad, el sufrimiento, la muerte) sin la cual cualquier proyecto político fracasaría. Este cambio coincidió con un acercamiento a una versión tomista de la religión cristiana que reflejaba la influencia en Eagleton de su amigo el dominico Herbert McCabe y con un profundo interés por Jacques Lacan. El artículo argumenta que este cambio no afectó a la fe marxista de Eagleton ni implicó rehuir la acción política. Más bien, el giro afectó a la base materialista de la propuesta de Eagleton de una vida justa. La apelación a las fuerzas existenciales supuso, por un lado, una crítica a la una crítica al historicismo de izquierdas y al culto posmoderno de la cultura y el relativismo y, por otro, un intento de reforzar la crítica marxista al capitalismo y la resistencia contra el fundamentalismo, el nihilismo y el consumismo. Para proponer su idea de la vida justa, Eagleton se apropia tanto de la noción de caridad cristiana –la idea de autorrealización a través del amor y la solidaridad–, junto con la concepción tomista de la moral arraigada en el cuerpo, y el imperativo de Lacan de “no renunciar al deseo”

Marxismo hegeliano: Lukács y Gramsci

This text compares Lukács' and Gramsci's ideas in the context of Marxist social theory in the first decades of the 20th century. It is a translation of A. Callinicos, Social Theory. A Historical Introduction, 2nd ed., Cambridge: Polity Press, 2007 chapter 9, pp. 202-213.Este texto compara el pensamiento de Lukács con el de Gramsci, en el contexto de la teoría social marxista de las primeras décadas del siglo XX. Es una traducción de A. Callinicos,  Social Theory. A Historical Introduction, 2nd ed., Cambridge: Polity Press, 2007 chapter 9, pp. 202-213

REVOLUTIONARY DYNAMICS AND APORIAE OF MODERNITY

Djelo Opća teorija moderne potiče da se moderna promišlja i razumije kao spoj dvaju konstitutivnih momenata: deklaracijskog momenta, kao afirmacije prava na emancipaciju koje je sposobno za stalno revolucionarno proširenje, i kapitalizma, koji je istodobno dinamičan i revolucionaran, i destruktivan i izrabljivački sustav. Dva su pogrešna načina poimanja tog spoja. Prema liberalnom shvaćanju, deklaracijski je moment ostvaren u kapitalizmu, prema vulgarnomarksističkom, taj je emancipacijski moment puki ideologijski pričin. Bidetov pojam “metastrukture” nudi mogućnost primjerenijeg poimanja tog spoja. U Bidetovu poimanju metastrukture moderne, koje se temelji na određenom čitanju i rekonstrukciji Marxova Kapitala, metastruktura označuje opću matricu mogućnosti kombinacija tržišta i organizacije kao temeljnih strukturnih značajki modernog društva. Autor kritički osporava takav pristup. Bolje je krenuti od strukture, od analize kapitalizma, i pokazati kako kapitalizam ujedno otvara emancipacijska obzorja koja otvaraju mogućnosti za osporavanje kapitalizma. Primjereno razumijevanje moderne podrazumijeva primjerenu teoriju kapitalizma, a ne neku opću teoriju moderne. Takav pristup ne svodi normativni diskurs na neku vrstu superstrukturnog epifenomena. Logički je posve moguće tvrditi da se određena načela i ideali pojavljuju u nekom konkretnom povijesnom kontekstu, ali i da sadržaj tih načela i ideala transcendira taj kontekst.The work General Theory of Modernity prompts us to reflect on and understand modernity as a fusion of two constitutive moments: the declarative moment, as an affirmation of the right to emancipation which is capable of constant revolutionary extension, and capitalism, which is simultaneously dynamic and revolutionary, a system both destructive and exploitative. There are two wrong ways of understanding this fusion. According to the liberal understanding, the declarative moment is accomplished in capitalism. According to the vulgar Marxist understanding, the emancipatory moment is a mere ideological illusion. Bidet’s concept of “metastructure” offers a possibility of a more adequate understanding of the fusion. In Bidet’s understanding of the metastructure of modernity, which is based on a specific reading and reconstruction of Marx’s Capital, the metastructure designates a general matrix of possibilities of combining market and organisation, as basic structural characteristics of modern society. The author critically disproves such an approach. It is better to start from the structure, from an analysis of capitalism, and show that capitalism also opens up emancipatory horizons which make it possible to refute capitalism. An adequate understanding of modernity requires an adequate theory of capitalism rather than a general theory of modernity. Such an approach does not reduce the normative discourse to some sort of super-structural epiphenomenon. It is logically quite possible to assert that certain principles and ideals emerge in a concrete historical context, but one can also assert that the contents of those principles and ideals transcend that context

Actors and networks or agents and structures: towards a realist view of information systems

Actor-network theory (ANT) has achieved a measure of popularity in the analysis of information systems. This paper looks at ANT from the perspective of the social realism of Margaret Archer. It argues that the main issue with ANT from a realist perspective is its adoption of a `flat' ontology, particularly with regard to human beings. It explores the value of incorporating concepts from ANT into a social realist approach, but argues that the latter offers a more productive way of approaching information systems

Introduction to the themed issue - Corporate power : agency, communication, influence and social policy

This paper introduces this themed issue of Critical Social Policy on the question of corporate power. Corporate power is recognized as an important agent in social policy making and delivery. However, to date there has been comparatively little attention to the crucial role that lobbying and corporate 'spin' play in helping to shape policy making contexts. This special issue of Critical Social Policy is concerned to bring such issues to the mainstream of social policy analysis. It is argued here that the rise of spin and public relations is a key feature of neoliberalism in the past two decades. These have worked to reshape policy making, resulting in pronounced changes in the content and process of policy making and it is argued that these have tended to marginalize or undermine democratic processes

Sports review: A content analysis of the International Review for the Sociology of Sport, the Journal of Sport and Social Issues and the Sociology of Sport Journal across 25 years

The International Review for the Sociology of Sport, the Journal of Sport and Social Issues and Sociology of Sport Journal have individually and collectively been subject to a systematic content analysis. By focusing on substantive research papers published in these three journals over a 25-year time period it is possible to identify the topics that have featured within the sociology of sport. The purpose of the study was to identify the dominant themes, sports, countries, methodological frameworks and theoretical perspectives that have appeared in the research papers published in these three journals. Using the terms, identified by the author(s), that appear in the paper’s title, abstract and/or listed as a key word, subject term or geographical term, a baseline is established to reflect on the development of the sub-discipline as represented by the content of these three journals. It is suggested that the findings illustrate what many of the more experienced practitioners in the field may have felt subjectively. On the basis of this systematic, empirical study it is now possible to identify those areas have received extensive coverage and those which are under-researched within the sociology of sport. The findings are used to inform a discussion of the role of academic journals and the recent contributions made by Michael Silk, David Andrews, Michael Atkinson and Dominic Malcolm on the past, present and future of the ‘sociology of sport’

Marxist approaches to social work

This chapter explores the diversity within Marxist approaches to social work, outlining key aspects of Marxism and the implications for social work under capitalist states, in situations where states break down, and under socialist states. Within each of these contexts, key examples are explored to demonstrate the range of approaches taken. The entry argues that there has been a neglect in the English-language literature of Marxist approaches to social work under socialism, and suggests that recent moves to open up the definition of social work through the concept of ‘popular social work’ offer one approach to begin filling this gap