Is labor the basis for the criticism of Marxist capitalism?
-On Pu Shu and the interpretation of Marx's critical theory
March 07, 2024 11:57 Source: "China Social Sciences" March 7, 2024 Issue 2847 Author: Wu Meng

In contemporary academic vision,The concept of labor is often understood as the cornerstone of Marx's social theory。This means,People regard labor as a general foundation for Marx to analyze human society,On the other hand, the theoretical fulcrum of labor as Marx's critical capitalist society。For the previous aspect,Labor is given an ontological status,Such Marx's social theory has the face of labor body theory; for the latter aspect,Labor is not only regarded as Marx's basis of various factual judgments on capitalist society,It is also regarded as a prerequisite for Marx's various value judgments made by this kind of society。These two aspects are actually unified: it is precisely because Marx's social theory defaults to labor body theory,Marx's capitalist criticism is only given the theoretical fulcrum of labor; on the other hand,,It is because of Marx's criticism of capitalism as a criticism of labor as a fulcrum,Marx's labor ontology seems to have a typical example。

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This theoretical position has been challenged by the late American left -wing thinker Pu Shuzong。The most influential book "Time、Labor and Social rule "proposed in the famous views of the Labor and Social rule is,"In the criticism of Marx's mature period,Labor creates the social world and is the source of all wealth,This concept does not mean that society is general,but only means capitalist society,or modern society "。The uniqueness of this view lies in: here Marx's labor concept and society are cut off。This not only means,"Labor" is no longer regarded as the foundation of "all" society,but only the foundation of a specific society, that is, the capitalist society; it means,connected to the capitalist society,It is no longer a general labor that exists in all society,but "capitalist labor"。Pu Shu Tong emphasized,The reason why capitalist labor is basic compared to the social structure,It is because capitalist labor has a unique "objective" bet365 best casino games feature (that is, this labor can directly establish the value relationship between commodities by turning its own objects into products)。In Pushu,,This "objective" feature of capitalist labor provides a constructive foundation for the capitalist social structure,Therefore, capitalist social relations have the "abstract" features in the sense of objectivity and "non -social",and the individual of the capitalist era, the rule of the era of capitalism is mainly the abstract rule of social structure。If you look at this position,"Labor itself" is the basis of "social general",Obviously expressing a large and unbelievable judgment,Because we cannot find the "general intermediary" between the two; only between "capitalist labor" with specific characteristics and "capitalist society" with a specific form,We can really find this intermediary, that is, the "objectiveness" of labor。

Pu Shu and this understanding of labor problems in Marx's thoughts,Fundamental speaking,It reflects the efforts to rebuild historic dimensions on Marx's labor issues。Pu Shu -Tong's distinction between labor (or "super -history labor") and capitalist labor,and the emphasis on the internal association between capitalist labor and capitalist social structure,For Marx's ideological research community,Not only important,and timely。Say it is important,It is due to the interpretation of Marx thought in contemporary contemporary,"Labor" seems to be more and more given to some kind of "natural" ontology position,It is constantly being entangled by the concepts that are often abstracted (such as "practice", "perceptual", "life", etc.,Therefore, more and more nature of schools,to the basic features of Marx's thought,That is, it seems that historicity does not exist in this field; and if the historic dimension of the Marx labor concept cannot be recovered,Then the basic vision and basic method of historical materialism have a danger of being metaphysical,So the contemporary significance of Marx's thought will also become blurred。Say it timely,,The rapid development of technology、The basic form of social production has changed significantly today,Historically grasping bet365 Play online games the objectivity of contemporary real movement like Marx has become the inherent requirements of Marxist research,In this background,Face the particularity of contemporary labor、Based on the understanding and grasp of the historical characteristics of contemporary labor, re -understand the theoretical task of labor in the status and role of labor in contemporary social life,It has more and more prominently placed in front of us。

  Pushu Tong's understanding of "abstract labor"

but but,Asking the question is one thing,How to solve the problem is another matter。Although Pushu and keen insight, I proposed the historic problem of the Marx labor concept with a keen insight,But it did not explain this problem convincingly。

Pushu Tong's understanding of capitalist labor is the foundation of Marxist criticism,Based on his understanding of the concept of Marx's "abstract labor",The problem is exactly,This understanding of his "abstract labor" is a problem with problems。Although Pushuyou highlights the importance of Marx's dual sexual thought on labor, that is, the importance of "specific labor" and "abstract labor",and insightly revealed the capitalist premise contained in the concept of "abstract labor",But when he understands the meaning of abstract labor as "labor as a function of social intermediary activities",It reflects his bias on this issue: for Marx,Abstract labor (or exactly,"Abstract Human Labor") reflects the equivalent of different specific labor in the capitalist era,instead of the intermediary nature of the labor emphasized by Pushu Tong。

Specifically,Marx proposed the basic context of abstract labor,It is the exchanging problem of products that have qualitative differences in various specific labor processes between each other,Here,Classical political economy labor value theory of labor and economics between labor and value explores its potential forms。If the theory of the latter,There is an inherent correlation between labor and value (that is, the exchangeability of the product),So what is the direct premise that the two may be connected together? Marx tried to answer this question through the concept of "abstract human labor": a variety of specific useful labor is used as a comparison of abstract human labor bet365 best casino games treatment,This has achieved assimilation of labor。But the question is,Specific labor accompanied by the entire process of the history of human history,Abstract labor is a historic prerequisite for commodities that must be exchanged,Therefore, abstract labor can not be the function of the specific labor itself,and must be some kind of internal related forces in the capitalist era created the existence of abstract labor。Pushu Tong recognized the historicity of abstract labor,That is, the connection between the abstract labor and the capitalist era itself,But the intermediary of abstract labor as the specific labor process,This cannot clearly explain the connotation and nature of abstract labor。In fact,If you look at the special narrative method of Marx's "Capital",Just as the proposal of "abstract labor" is to solve the direct premise of labor value theory (how labor may be used as a public foundation of commodity exchange),The prerequisite for abstract labor itself must also be pursued in the discussion of the "value form" later: enable the labor and production product B of the production of products A,so that political economists can directly analyze the value of the value of individual products,Not the different natural attributes of these products,and in the existence of a complete "commodity world" (and the prerequisite for the form of the whole "commodity world" needs to be revealed separately)。In this sense,The so -called "abstract labor",In fact, it is not a "form of labor",but the equivalent effect produced by the entire capitalist production mechanism between various specific labor processes,This effect cannot be determined by the specific labor process,It is rather to be a "social effect"。

This,"Abstract Labor" is actually an important road sign in the analysis process of Marx's political economy.,Not a final conclusion about the labor of the capitalist era。Through this label,Marx sets the direction of criticism of its political economy as a assimilation for different labor,so that political economists can establish a must -have capitalist production mechanism between labor and value in the form of "labor value theory"。This,Pu Shu and understand the concept of Marx's "abstract labor" concept,Bet365 lotto review Not only did the connotation of this concept (wrong with the "intermediary nature of labor" replaced "the equivalent of labor"),Therefore, the capitalist labor that cannot explain the work as the former capitalist era is as concrete labor,Why may it have an intermediary that is directly related to the value of the product,And confusing the analysis direction guided by this concept (with the disclosure of the disclosure of people's rule of human abstraction, replacing Marx's capitalism of Marx's co -conspiracy in the era of capitalism The production mechanism and its self -disclosure),Therefore, deny the class rule of the bourgeoisie from the bourgeoisie,Ignoring this understanding in the interpretation of Marx's thoughts。

  Re -understand the position of labor problems in Marx's thoughts

It can be said in a sense,Pu Shu and Pu Tong's understanding of abstract labor occurred,It is related to his "basicist" understanding of his capitalist society。This basicism is manifested as: on the one hand, the overallness of the capitalist society is based on individuality; on the other hand, find homogeneous foundation for capitalist society.。Pushu Tong understands the capitalist society as the overall process of heterogeneity individual process,and this whole itself has the integrity of transcending the individual processes,Therefore, when understanding this overallness,He naturally finds the overall foundation in various heterogeneous individuals,and because he understands this "foundation" as the same nature as the overall nature of the capitalist society to build the latter "intermediary",The "abstract labor" he understood as the foundation of the criticism of Marxist capitalism will not make people feel unexpected。Where is there,"Abstract Labor" is a function that every special labor has,The basic nature of this function is "common",That is, "Abstracts abstracted to all material specialty and all public social characteristics",Therefore, abstract labor is regarded as "one average、The individualization link of the universal social intermediary ",and being understood as the constructive power of capitalist social relations。

But in fact,This "basicism" of Pu Shutong is not established for Marx's Bet365 lotto review political economy criticism。Where in Marx,Historically existing existence of the social structure of the capitalist social structure,It is the basic prerequisite for labor that can be manifested as a basic role,instead of the opposite。In "1857-1858 Economics Manuscript",Marx has made it clear: "Production based on exchange value and community based on this exchange value,—— Although as we saw in the previous chapter of the currency,They will cause an appearance,As if property is just the result of labor,The private owner of your own labor product is [labor] condition,—— and labor as a general condition for wealth,The private owner of your own labor product is [labor] condition,and produce this separation。"" "This paragraph typically reflect Marx's basic attitude on capitalist labor: Marx refuses to use" labor "as the basic fulcrum to understand the capitalist society,Instead, "the basic position of labor" is regarded as the "appearance" of the capitalist era。I am rather,Marx's focus on labor issues,It is through the analysis and criticism of this "appearance",Display the objective dimension of the capitalist social structure or production method。

Specifically,For Marx,The question is not whether the labor is "constructed" (or the premise of "constructing" capitalist social relations),and why "performance" is value。Establish cause and effect contact between labor and value,or,Understand the results of "construction" for labor,It is precisely the position of the laborer values ​​of classical political economy criticized by Marx。Marx did not simply affirm or negate the theory of labor value,or,He did not make a simple "yes" or "no" judgment on whether he was valuable "entity"。I am rather,The theory of labor value as the theoretical foundation of political economy,For Marx is the theoretical intermediary to grasp the objective dimension of the realistic movement of the capitalist era: Marx's historical premise of the historical premise of the form of labor values ​​(labor "inevitable performance),revealed the "formal premise" of "general exchange",This is the basic way to appear in the exchange field of capitalist production。

Bet365 app download This,You can see,Pushu Tong, of course, trying to get rid of the "super history" understanding of the concept of Marx labor by determining the specific form of labor in the capitalist era,But he mistakenly emphasized the basic position of labor as Marx's own theoretical position,So I did not make a clear reflection on the status of labor in Marx's thoughts。and the requirements of our contemporary social life are,Facing the change of life itself like a historical materialism like Marx,The prerequisite for grasping the theoretical grasp of historic and realistic movements is not based on some given or preconceived concepts。

  (The author is a professor at the School of Philosophy of Fudan University)

Editor in charge: Cui Bohan
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