This quote alone contradicts your subject heading. Only the economic conditions can be ascertained with the precision of natural science, and Marx insists on a distinction between those and superstructural institutional and ideological conditions. He also says in this preface that societies, like people, should never be taken at their own valuation. However, if only objective economic conditions are precisely measurable, how does this translate into the other aspects of society, and moreover into praxis, or active intervention to change the conditions of society? How can this be ascertained with natural scientific precision?
-----Original Message----- >From: Charles Brown <charl...@cncl.ci.detroit.mi.us> >Sent: Jan 19, 2009 3:18 PM >To: marxism-thaxis@lists.econ.utah.edu >Subject: [Marxism-Thaxis] natural scientific like theory in social science > >-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >Marx directly addresses the issue of natural scientific like theory in social >science in the following: >Then begins an epoch of social revolution. With the change of the economic >foundation the entire immense superstructure is more or less rapidly >transformed. In considering such transformations a distinction should always >be made between the material transformation of the economic conditions of >production, which can be determined with the precision of natural science, and >the legal, political, religious, aesthetic or philosophic - in short, >ideological forms in which men become conscious of this conflict and fight it >out. > > >http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1859/critique-pol-economy/preface-abs.htm > > > > > > >This message has been scanned for malware by SurfControl plc. >www.surfcontrol.com > >_______________________________________________ >Marxism-Thaxis mailing list >Marxism-Thaxis@lists.econ.utah.edu >To change your options or unsubscribe go to: >http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis _______________________________________________ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list Marxism-Thaxis@lists.econ.utah.edu To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis
