What is Anglo-American neo-Marxist ethics?

Text | Xiang Yuqiao

Source: Anglo-American Neo-Marxist Ethical Thought

　　Marxism is not a highly systematic ethical theory, but it contains rich and profound ethical thoughts. "Marx himself did not directly address the question of moral philosophy." Marx used the concept of "morality" many times in his writings, but he did not analyze it in the same nuanced theoretical context as ethicists do. In his writings, "morality" seems to be a meaning-definite concept, and as such, any explanation seems superfluous. In other words, Marx does not seem to be concerned with the question of "ought", but only with the question of "is". If there are scholars who recognize, understand, and interpret Marxism in this way, then this must be a very serious misunderstanding. We believe that although classic Marxist writers such as Marx and Engels rarely discuss ethical issues, their ideas and theories contain rich and profound ethical thoughts. They attacked the immorality of slave society, feudal society, and capitalist society, exposed the greed and brutality of slave owners, feudal aristocrats, and the bourgeoisie, and gave full ethical affirmation to the moral sentiments of the proletariat and the moral rationality of socialist society and future communist society.

　　In fact, philosophical research, no matter how it is carried out, will eventually involve the movement of the ethical dimension. Philosophy is a kind of wisdom, but it is definitely not a kind of wisdom that is divorced from the reality of human life. Attention to reality and service to reality is an intrinsic character of philosophy, and once philosophy exhibits this character, it will inevitably be closely related to the moral life of mankind and show its ethical dimension. In the final analysis, the reason why philosophy is necessary to exist is because it can provide enlightenment for human existence, and when it plays its function of enlightening the true meaning of life, philosophy cannot just stay at the level of revealing the facts of "yes", it will inevitably cut into the value world of "should". Philosophical wisdom leads not only to the fact of man's own existence as a being, but also to the state of his own existence as a being. As a philosophy, Marxism's entry into the field of ethics is not direct and may not be sufficient, but it is a real entry into the field after all.

　　Sociological research emphasizes "value neutrality", but it is impossible for it to maintain absolute value neutrality. The object of sociological research is "society", and the existence of society is always governed by social ethics, so it is impossible for sociology to completely draw a clear line from ethics and "stand alone". In fact, there can be no absolutely clear demarcation between the humanities and social sciences such as ethics, sociology, and literature, and "crossing the line" is commonplace. As a sociological theory, Marxism has never maintained the so-called value neutrality. Its profound analysis and critique of human society belongs to the scope of ethical analysis and criticism to a large extent, and its construction of an ideal society also belongs to the scope of ethical construction to a large extent.

　　The above analysis has implications for our understanding of the existence of Anglo-American neo-Marxist ethical thought. It is undeniable that the reason why Anglo-American neo-Marxism can be included in the scope of "Marxism" is that it inherits and adheres to the intrinsic qualities of Marxism. In this sense, no matter how Anglo-American neo-Marxism exists, it will maintain and adhere to the intrinsic ethical value orientation of Marxism, so that it will have a dimension of ethical thought.

　　And so it is. Anglo-American neo-Marxism is a philosophical current, but it contains rich and profound ethical ideas. In contemporary British and American philosophy, Marxist philosophy has a position and influence that cannot be ignored, and contemporary British and American Marxist philosophers such as Harvey, Kalinikos, Schweckart, Marcuse, Eagleton, Fromm, Cohen, Williams, Romer, Giddens, Foster, and Jameson have all put forward relatively systematic and profound Marxist ethical thoughts, so that the ethical dimension of Marxist philosophy has been greatly expanded in contemporary British and American capitalist countries. They drew on the philosophical writings of Marx, Engels and other Marxist classic writers, and conducted ethical examination and analysis of the social, economic, and environmental problems existing in Western capitalist countries such as Britain and the United States, profoundly revealing the immorality of monopoly capitalism and the moral life conditions of Westerners under the conditions of monopoly capitalism. Their Marxist ethical thought occupies an important position in the contemporary Anglo-American philosophical garden that cannot be ignored, and has had a profound impact on the social life, especially the moral life, of the Western capitalist countries today.

Title: Anglo-American Neo-Marxist Ethical Thought

Author: Xiang Yuqiao

ISBN： 978-7-300-23193-8

Pricing: 48.00

Published: 15 September 2016

Introduction:

In contemporary Anglo-American philosophy, Marxist ethical thought has a status and influence that cannot be ignored. Contemporary Anglo-American Marxist philosophers such as Harvey, Kalinikos, Schweicart, Marcuse, Eagleton, Fromm, Cohen, Williams, Romer, Giddens, Foster, and Jameson put forward relatively systematic and profound Marxist ethical thoughts, thus greatly expanding the ethical thinking dimension of Marxist philosophy in contemporary British and American capitalist countries. They drew on the wisdom of ethical thought from the philosophical works of Marx, Engels and other Marxist classic writers, conducted ethical examination and analysis of the social, economic, and environmental problems existing in Western capitalist countries such as Britain and the United States, profoundly revealed the immorality of monopoly capitalism and the moral living conditions of Westerners under monopoly capitalism, and put forward suggestions and theories on how to dispel the immorality of monopoly capitalism and how to improve the moral living conditions of contemporary Westerners. As a result, their Marxist ethical ideas occupy an important position in the contemporary Anglo-American philosophical landscape, and have had a profound impact on the social life, especially the moral life, of Western capitalist countries.

　　After the classics or old Marxism, many schools of neo-Marxism have emerged abroad. On the basis of upholding and inheriting the classic or old Marxist ideas and theories, they carry out new theoretical reflection, analysis, and interpretation of the history and reality of human society, especially the Western capitalist countries, so as to "push through the old and bring forth the new" to a certain extent, so that Marxism will shine with the brilliance of the "new" under the new historical conditions, display the charm of the "new", and release the meaning of the "new." Scholars at home and abroad have different names for this Marxist trend or school of thought that has emerged under the new historical conditions.

　　Some scholars call it "foreign Marxism". Zhang Yibing used the concept of "foreign Marxism" in his book "Contemporary Foreign Marxist Philosophical Thoughts" and explained the reasons for its use. "This concept is what we are studying," he said...... Theoretically speaking, foreign Marxism in a broad sense should include all Marxist trends of thought outside China, which will cover all socialist movements and trends of thought in theory and practice under the banner of Marxism. (Zhang Yibing, ed., Contemporary Foreign Marxist Philosophical Trends (Volume I), 9 pages, Nanjing, Jiangsu People's Publishing House, 2012.) He further noted: "We would like to emphasize that foreign Marxism here is not simply the same as 'foreign Marxism.'" (Zhang Yibing, ed., Contemporary Foreign Marxist Philosophical Trends (Volume I), p. 9.) Obviously, Zhang Yibing was aware of the controversy that the term "foreign Marxism" might cause, so he tried to explain that "foreign Marxism" does not include Soviet-style and dogmatic Marxist studies, nor does it include the research results of foreign Marxist theory that directly imitate and copy the textbook system, but only refers to "foreign Marxist schools as philosophical trends" (ibid., pp. 9~10). ）。 It should be pointed out that no matter what kind of limitation is made on the meaning and scope of application of the term "foreign Marxism," we cannot deny that it is indeed a term that is prone to controversy. It is important to know that from the perspective of China or the Chinese nation, Marxism (no matter what form or form it takes) is essentially a foreign thought and theory, so it is obviously superfluous to make a distinction between internal and external aspects.

　　Some scholars call it "Western Marxism". This is a concept that has been used by many scholars at home and abroad, for example, Perry Anderson used the term "Western Marxism" in his book "A Discussion of Western Marxism". In Anderson's view, Western Marxism is a form of Marxist theory with strong academic colors that emerged on the European continent, which is in many ways different from Soviet Marxism, and has made a profound critique of contemporary capitalist society, but is seriously detached from the life practice of the working class. The term "Western Marxism" was introduced to the mainland in the 80s of the 20th century and has been adopted by some scholars on the mainland, for example, Wang Xiaosheng and others have authored "Western Marxist Ideological Theory". The book introduces and analyzes the ideological and theoretical achievements of more than 20 Western Marxists in the study of ideology from many different perspectives, classifies and introduces the ideological theories of Western Marxists, and sorts out the theoretical logic and ideas of different thinkers in constructing ideology, so as to comprehensively show the complex picture of the development of Western Marxist ideological theory in Western countries. For another example, Chen Xueming edited the "Course of Western Marxist Philosophy in the 20th Century". The book is divided into four volumes, providing a comprehensive introduction and commentary on the Western Marxist philosophical schools in the 20th and early 21st centuries. The first volume reviews the emergence and mutual controversy of the three major Marxist philosophical currents in the West in the first half of the 20th century, namely, theoreticians of the Second International, theoreticians of the Western Communist Party, theorists of the early "Western Marxism", and the Frankfurt School. The second volume analyzes the partial "confluence" of the three major Marxist philosophical currents mentioned above in the second half of the 20th century and the development of Marxist philosophy in the direction of pluralism. The third volume focuses on the opposition between the two tendencies within "Western Marxism" in the second half of the 20th century and the emergence of new schools. The fourth volume analyzes the comprehensive revival of Marxist philosophical research in the West in the late 20th and early 21st centuries and the vigorous development of various Marxist philosophical schools. Judging from the use of the concept of "Western Marxism" in academic circles at home and abroad, the concept is generally the same as "foreign Marxism" in meaning.

　　Some scholars call it "post-Marxism". The concept seems to have originated with Daniel Bell. In the book "The Coming of Post-industrial Society", Bell uses the method of central axis analysis in sociology to deeply explore the advent of post-industrial society and the changes in social structure brought about by it, so as to construct the theory of information society-post-industrial society theory (or central axis transformation theory). "Post-Marxism" is a concept developed in the postmodernist current, and it is only applicable to a small number of Anglo-American philosophers. As mainland scholar Zhang Yibing said: "Although the definition of this concept is still controversial, at the narrowest level, it can be determined that it is a special theoretical trend triggered by Laclau and Murphy's "Hegemony and Socialist Strategy", which is directly influenced by French post-structuralism in terms of theoretical methodology, and has attracted much attention in the current Anglo-American circles. (Zhang Yibing, ed., Contemporary Foreign Marxist Philosophical Trends (Volume I), p. 11.) As we all know, the word "post" is not a fashionable concept at present, because it has an infinite expansion of imagination in meaning, and it is easy to cause ambiguity. From this perspective alone, the term "post-Marxism" may hardly have long-term vitality.

　　Some scholars call it "neo-Marxism". Qiao Ruijin and other Chinese scholars are the authors of the book "New Marxism in Britain". The book takes character research as a breakthrough, selects 10 typical representatives of British neo-Marxism, makes an in-depth and systematic excavation and analysis of their neo-Marxist thoughts, better shows the localization and regionalization characteristics of British neo-Marxism, and explores the close relationship between British neo-Marxism and classical Marxism, Soviet Marxism and other forms of Marxism from multiple perspectives. British neo-Marxism refers to an academic trend and tendency aimed at realizing the Anglonitization of Marxism since the end of the 50s of the 20th century, and its research content involves history, sociology, political science, cultural studies, geography and ecology. British neo-Marxists insisted on taking "Marxism" as the common theoretical cornerstone and followed the principles and methods of Marxism from beginning to end, but at the same time advanced Marxist ideas and theories in some aspects, so they were called "British neo-Marxism".

　　Among the various names mentioned above, we tend to use the term "neo-Marxist". In our opinion, the so-called "new Marxism" refers to the general term of various Marxist trends of thought in comparison with classical Marxism or old Marxism. Although there are complex and fierce internal controversies among the various Marxist currents of thought that emerged after classical Marxism or old Marxism, they all flaunt the banner of Marxism and uphold and develop the ideas of classical Marxism to varying degrees. Of course, there may also be problems in these neo-Marxist schools that deviate from classical Marxism, so we need to be critically aware of the research process. On the whole, however, the distinction between these Marxist trends of thought and classical Marxism marked by the old and the new is not only vivid and appropriate, but also easy for people to understand and accept.

　　Anglo-American neo-Marxist ethical thought is a general term for various ethical ideas formed by contemporary Anglo-American neo-Marxists in the process of trying to develop Marxist ethical thought.

　　Anglo-American neo-Marxist ethical thought is a product of the emergence of the United Kingdom and the United States after the Second World War to localize the ethical ideas of classical Marxist writers. In our view, Britain and the United States have historically maintained certain differences from the European continent in the construction of philosophical ideas and theories. The same is true for the construction of neo-Marxist ethical thought. Although the neo-Marxist ethical ideas constructed and advocated by British and American philosophers after the war were not monolithic, they were intrinsically consistent with classical Marxist ethical thought. For the convenience of research, we refer to the ethical ideas that neo-Marxists in Britain and the United States worked hard to construct and advocate after the Second World War as "Anglo-American neo-Marxist ethical thought".