As liberal thought has evolved to address capitalism’s flaws, some argue it has caught up with Marxism, rendering it irrelevant. Vivek Chibber argues that liberalism may diagnose capitalism’s injustices, but Marxism gives us the tools to overcome them.
For much of its history, the socialist movement drew on Marxism as its guiding framework. In recent decades, however, Marxist theory has declined in influence in the intellectual world. In Anglophone political philosophy, for instance, a once-vibrant Marxist current has largely given way to liberal theories of various kinds. Given these developments, it’s worth asking: Does Marxism still offer the essential resource it did for socialists in the twentieth century?
Jacobin’s Nick French sat down with Vivek Chibber to discuss this question and others, including the relationship between liberal political philosophy and Marxism; the status of historical materialism as a theory; and the uses and limitations of moral philosophy for socialists. For Chibber, while liberal philosophy may diagnose capitalism’s injustices, it offers no meaningful path to addressing them. Marxism, by contrast, not only critiques capitalism but also provides a strategic framework for structural change, making it an invaluable and enduring force for confronting the deep-rooted inequalities of the modern world.
Nick French
In a recent intervention, the political philosopher Joseph Heath argued that liberal philosophy has developed to the point that it has rendered Marxism redundant or irrelevant. Heath’s argument points out that many of the most astute Marxist philosophers at the turn of the last century, collectively known as the “analytical Marxists,” folded their work into a wing of liberal political philosophy, particularly as…
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Auteur: Vivek Chibber
