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Monday, June 13, 2011
Leon Trotsky on Frederick Nietzsche
...We obviously make no claim to an exhaustive critique of the fantastic creations of Frederick Nietzsche, philosopher in poetry and poet in philosophy. This is impossible within the framework of a few newspaper articles. We only wanted to describe in broad strokes the social base which has shown itself to be capable of giving birth to Nietzscheism, not as a philosophical system contained in a certain number of volumes and for the most part explicable by the individual particularities of its author, but rather as a social current attracting particular attention because we are dealing with a current of the present time. It seemed to us to be all the more indispensable to bring Nietzscheism down from the literary and philosophical heights to the purely earthly basis of social relations because a strictly ideological attitude, conditioned by subjective reactions of sympathy or antipathy for the moral and other theses of Nietzsche, results in nothing good...
Leon Trotsky,'On the Philosophy of the Superman' (1900)
Labels: Marxism, socialism
posted by Snowball @ 5:09 PM
3 Comments:
At 6:14 PM, bat020 said...
Wow, that's really fascinating. Had no idea Trotsky ever wrote anything on Nietzsche. Always felt the two writers had a stylistic affinity (though not, of course, a political one).
It's interesting that he sees through both the bourgeois moralist anti-Nietzsche hysteria and the pro-Nietzsche aesthete cult that was already rapidly developing at the time of the philosopher's death (cf the reference towards the end to anarchist attempts at coöpting Nietzsche).
Also interesting that despite his trenchantly negative judgement, Trotsky takes care to distinguish between Nietzsche and Nietzscheans, and acknowledges the poetic contradictions in Nietzsche's work.
At 4:29 PM, Snowball said...
It's also quite remarkable an article given Trotsky was only about 21 years old at the time...
At 7:22 PM, Grim and Dim said...
The young Serge also wrote on Nietzsche but i can't find it online anywhere
Showing posts with label philosophy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label philosophy. Show all posts
Friday, June 17, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
From "The Histomat" Blog- (Yet More) Upcoming Marxist conferences in London
Markin comment:
From the description of these conferences, especially the second one on historical materialism, I now understand why we class struggle militants are rolling the rock up the hill these past many days and years. Karl Marx's aphorism, or a paraphrase of it , seems very appropriate (and irresistible) just now-philosophers had spent eons of time analyzing the world, the point is to change it. That means, maybe, fewer conferences and more getting out here and helping us roll that rock up the hill.
********
Tuesday, May 03, 2011
Upcoming Marxist conferences in London
1. Marxism 2011
Ideas to change the world - A five day political festival from
30 June to 4 July in central London hosted by the SWP with eyewitnesses and revolutionaries from Egypt and Tunisia as well as Tariq Ali, Tony Benn, Terry Eagleton, Paul Gilroy, Laurie Penny, Nina Power, Alex Callinicos and many others - full timetable now available to download here
What is Marxism 2011?
Crisis and austerity have exposed the insanity of our global system.
Our rulers have handed trillions of pounds to banks while billions of people across the planet face hunger, poverty, climate catastrophes and war. Despite unprecedented wealth and technology we are told capitalism can provide even less for us than before.
But a world in crisis breeds an ideological crisis. Austerity has generated resistance. Revolution has shaken the Arab world. Students have shaken the Con-Dems. Millions are fighting back, questioning this crazy system and looking for alternatives.
Marxism 2011 will bring thousands of people together from every continent and every arena of struggle to discuss, debate and organise resistance. With over 200 workshops, panels, film showings and rallies it is the biggest event of its kind in Britain and one of the biggest in the world.
Don’t miss Marxism in the year of revolutions.
2. Eighth Annual Historical Materialism Conference
Central London
10–13 November 2011
Spaces of Capital, Moments of Struggle
The ongoing popular uprisings in the Arab world, alongside intimations of a resurgence in workers' struggles against 'austerity' in the North and myriad forms of resistance against exploitation and dispossession across the globe make it imperative for Marxists and leftists to reflect critically on the meaning of collective anticapitalist action in the present.
Over the past decade, many Marxist concepts and debates have come in from the cold. The anticapitalist movement generated a widely circulating critique of capitalist modes of international 'development'. More recently, the economic crisis that began in 2008 has led to mainstream-recognition of Marx as an analyst of capital. In philosophy and political theory, communism is no longer merely a term of condemnation. Likewise, artistic and cultural practices have also registered a notable upturn in the fortunes of activism, critical utopianism and the effort to capture aesthetically the workings of the capitalist system.
The eighth annual Historical Materialism conference will strive to take stock of these shifts in the intellectual landscape of the Left in the context of the social and political struggles of the present. Rather than resting content with the compartmentalisation and specialisation of various 'left turns' in theory and practice, we envisage the conference as a space for the collective, if necessary, agonistic but comradely, reconstitution of a strategic conception of the mediations between socio-economic transformations and emancipatory politics.
For such a critical theoretical, strategic and organisational reflection to have traction in the present, it must take stock of both the commonalities and the specificities of different struggles for emancipation, as they confront particular strategies of accumulation, political authorities and relations of force. Just as the crisis that began in 2008 is by no means a homogeneous affair, so we cannot simply posit a unity of purpose in contemporary revolutions, struggles around the commons and battles against austerity.
In consideration of the participation of David Harvey, winner of the Isaac and Tamara Deutscher Memorial Prize, at this year's conference, we would particularly wish to emphasise the historical and geographical dimensions of capital, class and struggle. We specifically encourage paper submissions and suggested panel-themes that tackle the global nature of capitalist accumulation, the significance of anticapitalist resistance in the South, and questions of race, migration and ecology as key components of both the contemporary crisis and the struggle to move beyond capitalism.
There will also be a strong presence of workshops on the historiography of the early communist movement, particularly focusing on the first four congresses of the Communist International.
The conference will aim to combine rigorous and grounded investigations of socio-economic realities with focused theoretical reflections on what emancipation means today, and to explore – in light of cultural, historical and ideological analyses – the forms taken by current and coming struggles.
Deadline for registration of abstracts: 1 June 2011
From the description of these conferences, especially the second one on historical materialism, I now understand why we class struggle militants are rolling the rock up the hill these past many days and years. Karl Marx's aphorism, or a paraphrase of it , seems very appropriate (and irresistible) just now-philosophers had spent eons of time analyzing the world, the point is to change it. That means, maybe, fewer conferences and more getting out here and helping us roll that rock up the hill.
********
Tuesday, May 03, 2011
Upcoming Marxist conferences in London
1. Marxism 2011
Ideas to change the world - A five day political festival from
30 June to 4 July in central London hosted by the SWP with eyewitnesses and revolutionaries from Egypt and Tunisia as well as Tariq Ali, Tony Benn, Terry Eagleton, Paul Gilroy, Laurie Penny, Nina Power, Alex Callinicos and many others - full timetable now available to download here
What is Marxism 2011?
Crisis and austerity have exposed the insanity of our global system.
Our rulers have handed trillions of pounds to banks while billions of people across the planet face hunger, poverty, climate catastrophes and war. Despite unprecedented wealth and technology we are told capitalism can provide even less for us than before.
But a world in crisis breeds an ideological crisis. Austerity has generated resistance. Revolution has shaken the Arab world. Students have shaken the Con-Dems. Millions are fighting back, questioning this crazy system and looking for alternatives.
Marxism 2011 will bring thousands of people together from every continent and every arena of struggle to discuss, debate and organise resistance. With over 200 workshops, panels, film showings and rallies it is the biggest event of its kind in Britain and one of the biggest in the world.
Don’t miss Marxism in the year of revolutions.
2. Eighth Annual Historical Materialism Conference
Central London
10–13 November 2011
Spaces of Capital, Moments of Struggle
The ongoing popular uprisings in the Arab world, alongside intimations of a resurgence in workers' struggles against 'austerity' in the North and myriad forms of resistance against exploitation and dispossession across the globe make it imperative for Marxists and leftists to reflect critically on the meaning of collective anticapitalist action in the present.
Over the past decade, many Marxist concepts and debates have come in from the cold. The anticapitalist movement generated a widely circulating critique of capitalist modes of international 'development'. More recently, the economic crisis that began in 2008 has led to mainstream-recognition of Marx as an analyst of capital. In philosophy and political theory, communism is no longer merely a term of condemnation. Likewise, artistic and cultural practices have also registered a notable upturn in the fortunes of activism, critical utopianism and the effort to capture aesthetically the workings of the capitalist system.
The eighth annual Historical Materialism conference will strive to take stock of these shifts in the intellectual landscape of the Left in the context of the social and political struggles of the present. Rather than resting content with the compartmentalisation and specialisation of various 'left turns' in theory and practice, we envisage the conference as a space for the collective, if necessary, agonistic but comradely, reconstitution of a strategic conception of the mediations between socio-economic transformations and emancipatory politics.
For such a critical theoretical, strategic and organisational reflection to have traction in the present, it must take stock of both the commonalities and the specificities of different struggles for emancipation, as they confront particular strategies of accumulation, political authorities and relations of force. Just as the crisis that began in 2008 is by no means a homogeneous affair, so we cannot simply posit a unity of purpose in contemporary revolutions, struggles around the commons and battles against austerity.
In consideration of the participation of David Harvey, winner of the Isaac and Tamara Deutscher Memorial Prize, at this year's conference, we would particularly wish to emphasise the historical and geographical dimensions of capital, class and struggle. We specifically encourage paper submissions and suggested panel-themes that tackle the global nature of capitalist accumulation, the significance of anticapitalist resistance in the South, and questions of race, migration and ecology as key components of both the contemporary crisis and the struggle to move beyond capitalism.
There will also be a strong presence of workshops on the historiography of the early communist movement, particularly focusing on the first four congresses of the Communist International.
The conference will aim to combine rigorous and grounded investigations of socio-economic realities with focused theoretical reflections on what emancipation means today, and to explore – in light of cultural, historical and ideological analyses – the forms taken by current and coming struggles.
Deadline for registration of abstracts: 1 June 2011
Sunday, November 22, 2009
* From The HistoMat Blog- On Marxist Theorist Walter Benjamin
Click on title to link to a HistoMat Blog entry for the great Marxist cultural theorist Walter Benjamin.
Markin comment:
I have noticed over the past several years that the name Walter Benjamin has been more prominently mentioned in the academic Marxist journals and, of all places, positively mentioned in "The New York Review Of Books" articles. I first became aware of the work of Walter Benjamin many years ago in the the leftist cultural journal, "The New Left Review" when there was also something of a previous emerging interest in his work.
It is always necessary to have first-rate cultural theorists on our side. I just wish we could get more Trotskys to lead the struggles, as well. Of course the bourgeoisie is happy to let us have our academic Marxist icons, or at least will tolerate them. Our fighting revolutionary leaders are a different story. They still, for the most part, utter Trotsky's name with anguish and trepidation. I note that hatchet man Robert Service has a new 'biography' of Trotsky out (touted as the definitive bio). I will review that 'thing' after I have read it.
Markin comment:
I have noticed over the past several years that the name Walter Benjamin has been more prominently mentioned in the academic Marxist journals and, of all places, positively mentioned in "The New York Review Of Books" articles. I first became aware of the work of Walter Benjamin many years ago in the the leftist cultural journal, "The New Left Review" when there was also something of a previous emerging interest in his work.
It is always necessary to have first-rate cultural theorists on our side. I just wish we could get more Trotskys to lead the struggles, as well. Of course the bourgeoisie is happy to let us have our academic Marxist icons, or at least will tolerate them. Our fighting revolutionary leaders are a different story. They still, for the most part, utter Trotsky's name with anguish and trepidation. I note that hatchet man Robert Service has a new 'biography' of Trotsky out (touted as the definitive bio). I will review that 'thing' after I have read it.
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