The maturity of the neo-Marxist approach in cognition is determined not only by the heuristics of its theoretical and methodological foundations, but also by self-critical reflection. Three initial problems of the neo-Marxist approach are identified, which are useful to take into account when using it in scientific research: excessive criticism of neo-Marxist cognition, ideological bias of the neo-Marxist approach, conceptual uncertainty of capitalism as an object of neo-Marxism. It is proved that the ideological component is falsely identified with all neo-Marxism, and the critical component is treated trivially. The problem of the neo-Marxist approach lies not in the fact of a negative judgment about the reality under study, but in the level of theoretical and methodological support for the critical approach. It is necessary to distinguish criticism as a negative judgment and criticism as a dialectical logic of negation. The researcher can avoid the critical and ideological component of neo-Marxist research within the framework of the scientific tradition of neo-Marxism. This tradition does not deprive the researcher of the possibility of scientific search for new socio-economic reasons for the transformation of capitalism or new political ones by the subject of anti-capitalist resistance. The difference is that the ideological goal setting orients the researcher to the construction of the revolutionary situation of capitalism, and the scientific one – to the knowledge of the revolutionary factors of the existing «capitalist construct». More complex problem of the neo-Marxist approach is the conceptual uncertainty of capitalism. This problem requires a solution at the level of the community of neo-Marxist theorists. The unresolved nature of this problem affects the initial positions of new neo-Marxist studies. It does not allow us to define capitalism as an object of neo-Marxist research of any subject orientation. There are two options for a research strategy in this situation. First, it is possible, based on the conventional concept of truth, to join some neo-Marxist definition of modern capitalism and implement one’s subject research within the framework of the tradition of a particular neo-Marxist theorist. Secondly, it is possible to use the hypothetical-deductive method and proceed from the chosen understanding of capitalism as a hypothetical position, where the author’s subject of research is constituted as a consequence of this hypothesis and requires a verification check for truth. The solvability of general neo-Marxist epistemological problems means that there are no obstacles to the widespread application of neo-Marxism in social cognition.
Neo-Marxism world-system analysis was an effective means of the understanding of the postcolonial global order. The concepts of «core», «periphery» and «semi-periphery» reflected the dependent development of states in the global capitalist system. Capitalism structured the global order in the classical Marxist dichotomy of exploiters and exploited which can be represented with various subjects (states, groups of states, territories) and which according to neo-Marxism can’t disappear, because it reflects the essence of global antagonism. However, the realities of global development at the end of the 20th century demanded that neo-Marxism should reconsider the rigid link between the core-peripheral approach and the horizontal vision of the world: globalisation caused massive flows of migrants to highly developed countries and the gradual blurring of the boundaries between the core and periphery. There was the question in neo-Marxism which was about the ability of capitalism to preserve the core-peripheral organisation of the global division of labour. There was the idea that capitalism was able to reproduce core-periphery relations within the core states by including immigrants in the super-exploitation of labour through a covert policy of neo-racism. Such a vertical organisation of the core-peripheral model around the world, which was called dual society in neo-Marxism, would mean the formation of the global semi-periphery. The purpose of the article is to verify the neo-Marxist concept of the global semi-periphery using the example of the role of the migration factor in its formation. The study is based on UN data, as well as studies with a pronounced statistical component. According to the results of the study, it was concluded that the neo-Marxist concept of the global semi-periphery had not been verified by actual empirical material (on the example of the role of the migration factor). The available statistical and analytical data do not allow to totally confirm the neo-Marxist position that the global order under the influence of migration has been transformed and that it works in the conceptual model of a dual society. Globally, migration is not a determining factor in the widespread formation and unification of the dual method of labour exploitation within states. The quantitative data on the flow of migrants, comparative data on salaries in the countries of the core and the degree of concentration of income among certain groups of the population in the countries of the capitalist system state that the world is still largely reproduced in the horizontal core-peripheral model. Thus, there are no empirical grounds for stating the presence of a global dual society under the influence of the migration factor and consequently the presence of a global semi-periphery within the neo-Marxist approach of E. Balibar, I. Wallerstein, M. Hardt and A. Negri.
Neo-Marxist’s research program in social science exists in epistemological crisis condition. Excessive criticism, ideological engagement as well as final obscurity of capitalism are among the problems of neo-Marxism. As a result, there is no scientific answer on a key question of Marxism discussion why capitalism as a system of public mastery is still alive. Finish of crisis of neo-Marxist’s research program presumes presence of positivist’s finding in neo-Marxist’s research and applying of theory of complexity for efficient cognition of complicated system of capitalist’s reproduction. Complexity theory deconstruction of neo-Marxist’s concept of capitalism is realised in three main routes, such as theory of ideology, global order and revolution. There are three author’s conceptions overcoming current neo-Marxist’s problems are among results of present research. They are the conception of capitalist’s ideological minimalism, conception political support of global capitalism and the conception of ecological destruction of capitalism. Complexity theory deconstruction brings neo-Marxism back to scientific detection of objective factors of capitalist’s transformation within the framework of classical Marxist’s tradition but on the level of new theoretical and empiric determination.
The article presents an analytical revision of the neo-Marxist concept of the “political spectacle”, in which the main position of political neo-Marxism is formed.There is a possibility of political choice within the framework of the real absence of a political alternative (the political alternative is illusory) in the Western political process. The revision is carried out in two stages: a theoretical revision of the concept (a postpositivist check for falsifiability and a proposal for ways of theoretical development) and an empirical revision of the concept (a positivist check for verifiability). Verification of the neo-Marxist concept of “political spectacle” is carried out on the material of political forces in European Parliament. The verification method is the content analysis of the program documents of the “European Parties”.The article proves that the neo-Marxist concept of “political spectacle” is not theoretically correct enough and does not correspond to the current empirical material. First, the concept proceeds from the normativist view of the manipulative domination of capitalism and thus does not take into account the coordinated functioning of the modern bourgeoisie and the proletariat. Secondly, the example of the 2019 European Parliament elections shows that anti-capitalist forces are present in the Western electoral process and politics. The author concludes that it is necessary to update the neo-Marxist concept of the “political spectacle” on new theoretical grounds. The starting point of the updated concept is the following: the “political spectacle” of capitalism begins after the anti-capitalist forces become the structural elements of the reproduction of capitalist hegemony. On new theoretical grounds, the potential of the concept of “political spectacle” can be directed not to fix the political alienation of Western society, but to explain the capitalist political space as a system that can adaptively accumulate its own systemic deviations (fluctuations).
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