Mark Kelly - May 1
Title: On the Persistence and Obsolescence of Marxism: May Day Reflections on Class Politics
Abstract:
Despite the widespread announcement of the demise of Marxism by liberals, conservatives, and ex-Marxist thinkers who have labelled themselves 'post-Marxist', Marxism persists, both as a tendency in politics and as a theoretical paradigm. Drawing on the thought of Louis Althusser and Michel Foucault, I will argue, against post-Marxists like Laclau and Mouffe, that this persistence can be explained by the continuing existence of class struggle in our society. I will nonetheless follow Althusser and Foucault in arguing that some elements of Marxism, including its exclusive emphasis on class, are indeed redundant, and will thus advocate a non-Marxist approach class politics.
Biography:
Mark Kelly is Adjunct Fellow and an associate member of the Philosophy Research Initiative at the University of Western Sydney. He was previously Lecturer in Philosophy at Middlesex University. He is the author of The Political Philosophy of Michel Foucault (Routledge, 2009) and Foucault's History of Sexuality Volume I (Edinburgh, 2013).
