Rights statement: This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in International Critical Thought on 07/06/2017, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/21598282.2017.1316680
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Final published version
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Marx, Romanticism and the Importance of Superstructure in Evaluating Progress
AU - Johnson, Matthew Thomas
N1 - This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in International Critical Thought on 07/06/2017, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/21598282.2017.1316680
PY - 2017/6/7
Y1 - 2017/6/7
N2 - Marx’s development and deployment of a teleological account of history derived, in part, from Hegelian tenets has been central to modern notions of progress. This stands in contrast to Rousseau’s romanticism, which holds that human well-being declines as technology advances. In this article, I challenge these two positions through engagement with the case of Aboriginal Australian societies. I explore the possibility that an appreciation of the intricacies of societies demeaned as “primitive,” can lead Marxian and Rousseauian tenets to affirm those societies, but for reasons that Marx and Rousseau may not have originally appreciated. In light of the cultural or superstructural problems caused by modes of production, there may be grounds to appreciate the achievements of societies, which have actively rejected apparently essential means of progress, such as agriculture.
AB - Marx’s development and deployment of a teleological account of history derived, in part, from Hegelian tenets has been central to modern notions of progress. This stands in contrast to Rousseau’s romanticism, which holds that human well-being declines as technology advances. In this article, I challenge these two positions through engagement with the case of Aboriginal Australian societies. I explore the possibility that an appreciation of the intricacies of societies demeaned as “primitive,” can lead Marxian and Rousseauian tenets to affirm those societies, but for reasons that Marx and Rousseau may not have originally appreciated. In light of the cultural or superstructural problems caused by modes of production, there may be grounds to appreciate the achievements of societies, which have actively rejected apparently essential means of progress, such as agriculture.
KW - Marx
KW - romanticism
KW - progress
KW - development
U2 - 10.1080/21598282.2017.1316680
DO - 10.1080/21598282.2017.1316680
M3 - Journal article
VL - 7
SP - 205
EP - 218
JO - International Critical Thought
JF - International Critical Thought
SN - 2159-8282
IS - 2
ER -