Book review: Karl Marx on Technology and Alienation, written by Amy E. Wendling
In: Historical MaterialismSearch for other papers by Tom Bunyard in
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Amy Wendling contends in this book that Marx’s concern with alienation is not restricted to his early, more explicitly Hegelian writings, and that it can be seen to evolve throughout his work in tandem with his interest in technology. This evolution, according to Wendling, is marked by his transition between two successive scientific paradigms, both of which pertain to the status of labour and machinery within society. Wendling claims that Marx uses the distinction between them as a means of conducting an immanent critique of capitalist ideology. Consequently, although it is primarily a work of intellectual history, this book offers an interesting contribution to the hermeneutics of Marx’s Capital. In addition, it also bears relation to contemporary discussions concerning real subsumption and the abolition of labour. The book’s general argument raises questions as to the degree to which a conception of alienation must rely upon notions of human essence, and upon an idea of a ‘natural’ and ‘authentic’ humanity. Wendling’s responses to those questions are described as problematic within this review, but they are also acknowledged to be both pertinent and intriguing.
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Arthur Christopher ‘Hegel’s Master-Slave Dialectic and a Myth of Marxology’ 1983 available at: http://marxmyths.org/chris-arthur/article.htm
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Endnotes ‘Communisation and Value-Form Theory’ Endnotes 2010 #2 available at: http://endnotes.org.uk/articles/4
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Feuerbach Ludwig Eliot George The Essence of Christianity 1989 New York Prometheus Books
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Hardt Michael & Negri Antonio Empire 2001 Cambridge, MA Harvard University Press
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Houlgate Stephen The Opening of Hegel’s Logic: From Being to Infinity 2006 West Lafayette Purdue University Press
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Marx Karl Fowkes Ben Capital: A Critique of Political Economy 1976 [1867] Volume I Harmondsworth Penguin
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Marx Karl Milligan Martin Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844 1988 [1932] New York Prometheus Books
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Marx Karl Nicolaus Martin Grundrisse: Foundations of the Critique of Political Economy (Rough Draft) 1993 [1939/41] Harmondsworth Penguin
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Negri Antonio Bove Arianna ‘Value and Affect’ 1999 [1997] available at: http://www.generation-online.org/t/valueaffect.htm
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Negri Antonio Mandarini Matteo Time for Revolution 2003 London Continuum
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Postone Moishe Time, Labor, and Social Domination: A Reinterpretation of Marx’s Critical Theory 1996 [1993] Cambridge Cambridge University Press
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Wendling Amy E. Karl Marx on Technology and Alienation 2009 Basingstoke Palgrave Macmillan
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2
Postone 1996, p. 141.
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4
Cf. Postone 1996, p. 5.
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7
Negri 2003, p. 50, italics in the original.
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9
Marx 1976, pp. 342, 353.
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10
Marx 1976, p. 90.
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11
Marx 1976, p. 94.
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12
Marx 1976, p. 104.
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13
Marx 1976, p. 105.
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16
Feuerbach 1989, p. 7.
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Book review: Karl Marx on Technology and Alienation, written by Amy E. Wendling
In: Historical MaterialismSearch for other papers by Tom Bunyard in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Amy Wendling contends in this book that Marx’s concern with alienation is not restricted to his early, more explicitly Hegelian writings, and that it can be seen to evolve throughout his work in tandem with his interest in technology. This evolution, according to Wendling, is marked by his transition between two successive scientific paradigms, both of which pertain to the status of labour and machinery within society. Wendling claims that Marx uses the distinction between them as a means of conducting an immanent critique of capitalist ideology. Consequently, although it is primarily a work of intellectual history, this book offers an interesting contribution to the hermeneutics of Marx’s Capital. In addition, it also bears relation to contemporary discussions concerning real subsumption and the abolition of labour. The book’s general argument raises questions as to the degree to which a conception of alienation must rely upon notions of human essence, and upon an idea of a ‘natural’ and ‘authentic’ humanity. Wendling’s responses to those questions are described as problematic within this review, but they are also acknowledged to be both pertinent and intriguing.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 1007 | 150 | 23 |
| Full Text Views | 425 | 11 | 5 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 275 | 32 | 14 |
