I think one of the most telling signs that Marxisms historical materialism is a partially flawed, if not an outright debunked theory lies in the fact that There still does seem to be a real gap at the place where there should be a theory of personality consistent with historical materialism (Lucien Seve. Man in Marxist Theory and the Psychology of Personality). In other words, the tendency towards authoritarianism, inhumane practices, and the sacrifice of personal autonomy within Marxist societies can be traced to the almost total lack of a Marxist conception of what it means to be an actual, living, breathing human being. This lack of a Marxist engagement with the human condition, or with psychotherapy, is, I believe, the inevitable result of the Marxist theory of individuals, in terms of consciousness, not as free or creative beings, but as the product of larger social and historical processes. This fundamental and anti-human belief, if used as both the framework for building the future, and as the base for understanding contemporary man, will inevitably lead to the sacrifice of actual human beings to the deity of a theory - namely an inevitable future communist society. The liberal concept of history and of individualism is not, however, any more justifiable or relateable to the actual reality of what it is to be a human, and also inevitably leads to domination, the subordination of individuals, and anti-human abuses. More on that later. The only humane conception of individuals (because it is, I believe, the most in line with the actual reality of what it means to be a living, context-based, creative human being) is the existentialist view of the individual. Only in an anarchist society, which accepts the subjective, nuanced relationship of the free and creative individual within broader physical and social contexts, can there be any hope of a genuinely free society.
Posted on: Tue, 15 Jul 2014 18:37:17 +0000
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