Escaping Structuralism's Legacy: The Renewal of Theory and History in Historical Materialism

Abstract

The project of renewing historical materialist theory for a new generation requires overcoming the limitations of Althusserian structuralism. Upon investigation, Althusser's theory is revealed to be idealist, inconsistent with the philosophy actually articulated by Marx, and unhelpful in understanding the dynamics of human societies. The flaws in this approach led both to E. P. Thompson's rejection of abstract theory altogether, and Michael Lebowitz's effort to “complete” Marx's theoretical project, while avoiding Althusser's structural determinism by incorporating agency and social struggle into the heart of political economy. Yet Lebowitz's theoretical system has very little to say about how these were historically practiced by classes as institutional formations in different spatio-temporal contexts. In this respect, the “Institutional Marxist” approach developed by Leo Panitch and Sam Gindin shows the most promise for further developing today's revival of historical materialism.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Althusser

Louis

, and Etienne

Balibar

. 2009 (1968). Reading Capital. New York: Verso. Anderson, Perry. 1980. Arguments Within English Marxism. New York: Verso.

Barrow, Clyde W. 2011. “(Re)reading Poulantzas: State Theory and the Epistemologies of Structuralism.” Pp. 27–40 in Alexander Gallas, Lars Bretthauer, John Kannankulam, and Ingo Stutzle, eds., Reading Poulantzas. Pontypool, England/ London: Merlin Press.

Hall

Peter

, and Rosemary

Taylor

. 1996. “Political Science and the Three New Institutionalisms.” Political Studies, 44:5, 936–957.

Hall

Peter

, and David

Soskice

. 2001. Varieties of Capitalism: The Institutional Foundations of Comparative Advantage. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.

Lebowitz, Michael A. 2003 (1992). Beyond Capital: Marx's Political Economy of the Working Class. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Marx

Karl

. 1978a (1843). “Contribution to the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right.” In The Marx-Engels Reader. Second edition, edited by Robert C. Tucker. New York: W. W. Norton.

Marx

Karl

. 1978b (1844). “Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844.” In The Marx-Engels Reader. Second edition, edited by Robert C. Tucker. New York: W. W. Norton.

Marx

Karl

. 1978c (1846). “The German Ideology: Part I.” In The Marx-Engels Reader. Second edition, edited by Robert C. Tucker. New York: W. W. Norton.

Marx

Karl

. 1978d (1875). “Critique of the Gotha Program.” In The Marx-Engels Reader. Second edition, edited by Robert C. Tucker. New York: W. W. Norton.

10.

Marx

Karl

. 1990 (1867). Capital. Volume I. New York: Penguin. Miliband, Ralph. 1983. Class Power and State Power. London: Verso.

11.

Panitch

Leo

. 2002. “The Impoverishment of State Theory.” In Paradigm Lost: State Theory Reconsidered, edited by Stanley Aronowitz and Peter Bratsis. Minneapolis, Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press.

12.

Panitch

Leo

, and Sam

Gindin

. 2000. “Transcending Pessimism: Rekindling Socialist Imagination.” In Necessary and Unnecessary Utopias: Socialist Register 2000, edited by Leo Panitch and Colin Leys. London: Merlin Press.

13.

Panitch

Leo

. 2005. “Euro-Capitalism and American Empire.” In Varieties of Capitalism, Varieties of Approaches, edited by David Coates. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

14.

Panitch

Leo

. 2011. “Capitalist Crises and the Crisis this Time.” In The Crisis This Time: Socialist Register 2011, edited by Leo Panitch, Greg Albo, and Vivek Chibber. London: Merlin Press.

15.

Panitch

Leo

. 2012. The Making of Global Capitalism: The Political Economy of American Empire. New York: Verso.

16.

Panitch

Leo

. 2015. Deutscher Prize Lecture, London (November 7). Historical Materialism, forthcoming.

17.

Poulantzas

Nicos

. 2000 (1978). State, Power, Socialism. New York: Verso. Sartre, Jean-Paul. 1968. Search for a Method. New York: Vintage Books.

18.

Thompson

E. P.

2008 (1978). “The Poverty of Theory.” In The Poverty of Theory and Other Essays. London: Merlin Press.

19.

Wood

Ellen

. 1986. The Retreat From Class: A New “True” Socialism. New York: Verso.

20.

Wood

Ellen

. 1995. Democracy Against Capitalism: Renewing Historical Materialism. New York: Cambridge University Press.