On Feb 7, 2013, at 6:43 PM, Jim Devine wrote
> Shane Mage wrote: >> 'Orthodoxy" is irrelevant . An "orthodox" marxist is no marxist > Of course. And of course, almost no-one describes themselves as > "orthodox."[*] But some think in an "orthodox" (or dogmatic) way. > >> The Law >> should be regarded as a touchstone of Marxian political economy >> because >> Marx himself insists on it: > > This is an example of "orthodox" thinking: Some theory is the > touchstone of a Thinker's thought because he said so. (Didn't Marx and > Engels say in THE GERMAN IDEOLOGY that nobody should be evaluated > solely on the basis of their self-perception? Self-perception is not the same thing as a scientist's or craftsman's or artist's conception of the nature and purpose of his work. For a philosopher--Marx in particular--explicit statement of that nature and purpose is integral to the work itself. Marx is a systematic thinker. He deserves to be treated as such. > Might the _true_ > touchstone be something else? Perhaps it's class struggle? or the idea > that any social system characterized by class relations has internal > contradictions?) > > But any mortal human being -- including Marx -- can be wrong. (For > example, how about some of those things he said about Jews?) That > means that no-one's writings should be read uncritically. Instead, we > have look at the logic of their ideas, how they fit with empirical > reality, and how they mesh with dialectical heuristics. > > -- > Jim Devine / "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your > own way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante. > > [*] there are exceptions, I'm sure. If my memory isn't failing me > (again!), Anwar Shaikh embraced the term "fundamentalist" at one point > in order to get beyond accusations of his being a fundamentalist. It's > like some gay folks using the word "queer." > _______________________________________________ > pen-l mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
