Marxism--as a philosophy and historical theory (4 February 2007)

I. The tradition of "scientistic" history

A. The Rise of Science in the nineteenth century--in many ways, Marx and Engels saw their world "scientifically"--that is, through the scientific method, they had concluded that human relationships were built around class struggle

 B. The Professionalization Project and Objectivity--as we've talked about, the professionalization of history contributed to this belief system

 C. Marx as historical scientist--so, how was Marx a "historical" or "social" scientist?

        1. materialism
        2. History's progression

D. Vulgar Marxism, Neo-Marxism and Marxism--what's the difference? What do Marxist Historians focus on? A facile definition, more relevant to scholars of the first half of the century:

1. Great events have great causes, where Revolutions and Politics catch up to the economy
2. determination (economic) and agency (of the classes)

A better definition--Marxist historians focus on the nature of exploitation in society; they explore causes behind existing exploitation, very often resulting from unequal economic relations that are reaffirmed through the power elite of a society. But the outcomes are not always the same. The important point for Marxist philosophers, is the use of a particular method to test the validity of a historical truth. Hence, the importance of dialectical materialism

II. British Marxists: Christopher Hill (1912-2003), EP Thompson (1924-1993), Eric Hobsbawm (1917-  ).

A. Intrigued by seeming success of Soviet Project

B. Wanted to explore history through a Marxist Lens

1. economy and relations of production

 2. social relations are very important and show more complexity than the above definitions suggest
3. historical development (class struggle, class consciousness central to Marxist history)

C. Past and Present (1952) like Annales, this journal provided a venue for Marxist historians to present their work

D. When do Marxist Historians break with USSR and the Communist Party?

1. Stalin dies--truths emerged
2. Khrushchev--deStalinization;  but he also invaded Hungary 1956
-this marks the breaking point in 20th-century Marxism

E. How to reconfigure a newly non-aligned Marxism?

-The New Left (The New Left Review 1960)
-Radical History Review (1972)

III. E(dward) P(almer) Thompson (1924-1993)

A. British Marxist Historian
B. Broke with Communist Party 1950s
C. Making of the English Working Class (1963)
D. Culture and retention of historical materialism