Congrès Marx International VI, septembre 2010, Section Philosophie, Chen Xue-ming
On Research of "Western Marxism" in China
Chen Xue-ming
School of Philosophy Fudan University, Shanghai, PRC, 200433
xuemchen@fudan.edu.cn ，86-21-65642639
"Western Marxism" came in China in 1970s when Chinese people were
getting rid of the constraints of "the Great Cultural Revolution" and its
theoretical basis, that was theory of continuing revolution under the
proletariat dictatorship, and emancipating people's mind through. "Western
Marxism" has had its ups and downs during the last 30 years, and becomes a
famous school of thought nowadays in China. "Western Marxism" is famous
not only in academia but also in political and business areas. Earlier it was
mainly philosophical and aesthetic scholars who were studying "Western
Marxism", but today, experts in economy, sociology, politics, and even science
of management are talking about it. Undeniably, "Western Marxism" is having
increasing influence.
1. The importance of studying "Western Marxism" in China nowadays
A theory can be widespread just because it can satisfy social needs.
"Western Marxism" can get so quickly into the mainstream of Chinese words
and attract so many experts and scholars to study it just because it has a
certain illuminating sense to contemporary China. Contemporary China is
practicing a great Socialist process of modernization with leading theory of
Marxism, which has been emphasized repeatedly by both China's constitution
and the party constitution of Chinese Communist Party. What matters is that
what contemporary China needs is not Marxism dogmaticized and
misunderstood but Marxism with modernization and sinicization. For the
triumph of Chinese Socialist process of modernization, Marxism must be
modernized and sinicized.
Clearly "Western Marxism" has incalculable importance for us to get rid
of dogmatic and wrong understanding of Marxism and to realize Marxist
modernization and sinicization. The core of "Western Marxism" is to
reinterpret Marxist system in a new social tendency. Theorists on "Western
Marxism" combine organically "to return to Marx" and "to push Marx
forward": to search for the "spirit " of Marxism constantly and grasp Marxist
position, ideas and method rightly and comprehensively on the one hand; to
try to achieve Marxist modernization and push Marxism forward constantly,
and locate the method of "saving Socialism" in the union of Marxist theory and
reality on the other hand. Their basic position to Marxism and their basic
methods of studying Marxism and their achievements about Marxism attract
widespread attention of Chinese academia, especially Marxist fields. People in
Congrès Marx International VI, septembre 2010, Section Philosophie, Chen Xue-ming
the process of studying Marxism has sucked all good things from "Western
Marxism" from different perspectives. Undeniably, the achievements of
research on Marxism in the last 20 years in China will be impossible without
the illuminating function of "Western Marxism".
We develop our Socialist modernization with the demonstration of
western modernization. Countless facts have told us that China must reach
modernization and Chinese people must enjoy the fruits of modern civilization,
but China can't copy the pattern of western modernization and China must
seek out a new way to modernization which can maximize positive effects and
minimize negative effects. Besides to illustrate Marxism, "Western Marxisism"
criticizes contemporary Capitalism form various angels. We can't just
contribute the meaning of research on "Western Marxist" critical theory to
"helping us to see contemporary Capitalist nature", but should think about
carefully the meaning of "Western Marxist" critical theory for China's
development of Socialist modernization. It means that the study of this theory
can constantly remind us that western modernization programme is in
question and china's modernization programme is fresh but it also has
problems and it has paid a heavy price. We must dare to face and fully realize
the problems in the process of modernization as "Western Marxism" has done
and cannot be blind at them. "Western Marxist" theorists so sharply criticize
and disclose the negative effects in the process of pursuing modernity and they
aim at making people seek for advantages while avoiding disadvantages: to
fully enjoy modernity on the one hand, to put the price down to a minimum on
the other hand. All these insights are admired by many contemporary chinese
scholars and have a great role in the exploration of chinese-style of
modernizatio.
2.To grasp the spirit of "Western Marxism" in comparison among three
interpretations of Marxism
The key to studying "Western Marxism" is to grasp its spirit. If we grasp
the spirit, we just can make a good judge, and thus assimilate the essence and
reject the dross. Chinese academia finally identifies the nature of "Western
Marxism" by comparison of "Western Marxism" with other Marxist
trends.Since the birth of marxism, there have been three different
interpretations of marx's thought and "Western Marxism" is one of them.
The first direction of interpretation was represented by some thinkers
from the Second International. They believed that Marx wanted to deny the
legitimacy of philosophy and Marx's theories were mainly about sociology and
economics, deriving from Marx's words of "destroying" and "ending"
philosophy in some books. Then they looked at Marxism from the perspective
of positivisism and scientism and explained Marxism as a "science " like other
Congrès Marx International VI, septembre 2010, Section Philosophie, Chen Xue-ming
sciences.
The second direction of interpretation was represented by some thinkers
from the Third International. They didn't deny Marxism as a philosophy just
because of Marx's words of "destroying" and "ending" philosophy, but they
were blind at Marx's critique and beyond of modern philosophy. They red
Marxism from the perspective of modern philosophy and thought that Marxist
philosophy was still exploring the oder of spirit and substance and was
characterized by the divide between subject and object.
The third direction of interpretation was created by "Western Marxist"
theorists. They opposed both the interpretation of some theorists from the
Second International and that from the Third International. They strongly
disagreed with getting philosophy out of Marxism. They believed what marx
wanted to "destroy "and "end" was modern metaphysical philosophy and thus
Marx set his new philosophy and ontology. To deny philosophy in Marxism
would inevitably lead Marxism to positivism without foundation. At the same
time, they firmly opposed to identify Marxist philosophy with modern
metaphysical philosophy and emphasized that Marx's philosophical revolution
had basically overcome western metaphysical mode of thinking.
After researching for many years, many Chinese scholars have realized
that the third direction of interpretation is not perfect but it is the first one to
be aware of the mistake and harm of denying Marxist philosophy, especially of
modern metaphysical mistake of understanding Marx's philosophy, and thus is
the first one to explore the boundary between Marx's philosophy and modern
metaphysical philosophy.
Some domestic scholars think that discussion about Marxism is actually
discussion about the three directions of interpretation. Because the first and
second directions of interpretation have been predominant for a long time, the
third direction of interpretation has always being fighting with them. There
have been three big impacts since 1920s, 1930s: The first one was in 1920s,
1930s. Then, the early representatives of "Western Marxism", Lukacs, Korsch
and Gramsci, contributed the reasons of failures of revolution to the Second
International's and the Third International's misunderstanding of Marx's
philosophy by exploring the lessons of frequent failures of proletarian
revolution and turned to criticize these systems of interpretation; The second
was in 1960s, 1970. Then Frankfurt School and East European New Marxism
which was represented by Yugoslav "Praxis" group echoed each other. They
combined the critique of Soviet rigid model of political system and critique of
the interpretation system as "official ideology" of Soviet Union and East
European countries tightly together ; The third was in 1980s, 1990s. Then a
number of young researchers raised the political critique of "cultural
revolution" to philosophical critique. Their critique of "the textbooks system of
Congrès Marx International VI, septembre 2010, Section Philosophie, Chen Xue-ming
Marxist philosophy" actually put the first and second interpretation systems in
question.
3. The lastest theoretical achievements of Western Marxism summed
up by academia in China
After the drastic changes in soviet union and Eastern Europe, many
Chinese researchers of Western Marxism have insisted on tracking-studying
Western Marxism and timely summed up and absorbed the latest researches
of Western Marxism. These latest achievements are mainly manifested in the
following three aspects ：
The first thing is about the study of marxism itself. Among which the
study of Marxist reality especially attracted Chinese scholars' attention. We
think that the following three demonstrations have strong conviction and
especially enlighten us: Firstly, to demonstrate with the reason that Marx's
theory has become a valuable heritage of knowledge repositories of
mankind； Secondly, to demonstrate with the reason that in modern Capitalist
society the immanent contradictions are becoming increasingly acute；Thirdly,
to demonstrate with the reason that current world needs Marxism as signpost
to go ahead. The greatest achievements made by theorists of Western Marism
are to clarify "the alive" and "the dead" in Marxist theories after the dramatic
changes in Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Their such researches also
attracted Chinese reasercheres' attention. We observe that while Western
Marxist theorists reveal what has been out of date in Marx's theories they
vigorously promote the theoretical ideas with great vitality: Firstly, Marx's
theory about the critique of Capitalism; Secondly, the theory relating to the
overall development of human being; Thirdly, the theory about the
relationship between human and nature. Everyone thinks that Western
Marxists highlight these theoretical ideas in Marx's huge and rich theoretical
systems and show their real meaning and vitality, and thus they have made
important contributions to Marixsm.
The second thing is about the study of Socialism.We recognize that it is
Western Marxist main theory about Socialism to put forward two concepts of
"market Socialism" and "ecological Socialism". In summing up Western Marxist
researches on "market Socialism", some Chinese scholars specially emphasize
that Western Marxist theorists' confirmation about the union of market and
Socialism is a major revision and development of traditional Socialist theories.
Some scholars also suggest that it is important that they not only generally
confirm the possibility of union of market and Socialism but also put forward
many illuminating ideas about how to combine market and Socialism in detail.
For example, they believe that people's livelihood and equality are Socialist
essence, and the union of market and Socialism is the union of people's
Congrès Marx International VI, septembre 2010, Section Philosophie, Chen Xue-ming
livelihood and equality; They stress that the negative effects resulted from
market just can be avoided if Capitalist market economy is transformed into
Socialist market economy. While in summing up Western Marxist researches on
"ecological Socialism", some Chinese scholars agree with Western Marxist
basic position: Ecological crisis mainly results from Capitalist mode of
production, that is mode of production aimed at maximum of profit, but
Capitalist motive for profit will necessarily damage ecological environment. At
the same time, we also pay attention to the fact that Western Marxist theorists
reform the basic contents of Socialism from a new point of view, and thus
make important contributions to Socialist theory of Marxism. The main
contributions are as follow: They believe that economic ration must be
replaced by ecological ration; They believe that Socialism must guide people to
be satisfied not in consumption but in production; They emphasize that
Socialism must replace the relationship between "more" and "better" by
relationship between "better" and "less"; They argue that Socialism must make
all human being's labour and free time activities be rich in significance.
The last one is about contemporary Capitalism. Many Chinese scholars
think that Western Marxist latest researches are embodied by the summing up
of the latest trends and characteristics of contemporary Capitalism and their
corresponding critique: Firstly, contemporary Capitalist is "global Capitalism";
Secondly, contemporary Capitalism is "casino Capitalism"； Thirdly,
contemporary Capitalism is "digital Capitalism"; Fourthly, contemporary
Capitalism is "consuming capitalism"； Fifthly, contemporary Capitalism is
"turbine Capitalism"; Sixthly, contemporary Capitalism is "new Imperialism".
4.We need to redefine the concept of "Western Marxism"
The concept of "Western Marxism" is popular nowadays, but the
meaning of this concept is quite uncertain. This largely because of its
uncertainty in western world itself. It leads to endless discussion around the
concept of "Western Marxism" and prevents us from maximizing the
achievements of researching on it to some extent.
In summary, there are about four ways for the west to use "Western
Marxism":
Firstly, to use it as a regional concept, that is to identify "Western
Marxism" as "Marxism of the west". A former Yugoslav scholar once said that
Marxism can be classified as "eastern Marixsm", "western Marxism" and
"Marxism of the third world" in an international conference. "Eastern Marxist"
included Marxism in such Socialist countries as Soviet Union, East European
countries and China; "Marxism in the third world" referd to Marxism in
developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America; "Western Marxism"
meant Marxism in developed countries in Europe and America and it included
Congrès Marx International VI, septembre 2010, Section Philosophie, Chen Xue-ming
not only independent Marxist theory but also the theories of Communist
Parties in these countries.
Secondly, to use "Western Marxism" as "new Marxism" apart from its
regional meaning, so do Canadian scholar, Ben Agger. Those who use the
concept of "Western Marxism" like this emphasize that all new Marxist
theories which are beyond the scientific Socialism of the Second International,
Leninism of the Third International and Trotskyism of the Fourth International,
whether they are in east or west, can be titled with "Western Marxism".
Thirdly, to emphasize that "Western Marxist" main characteristic is to
locate their concern in philosophy and aesthetics based on recognizing
"Western Marxism" as a regional concept. The explanation of the concept of
"Western Marxism" made by Perry Anderson, a British new left theorist, is
widely popular in west world. He studies "Western Marxism" mainly from the
transformation of themes and concerned issues, that is to identify the
difference between "traditional Marxism" and "Western Marxism" by differing
the themes of economy, politics and philosophy.
Fourthly, to emphasize the opposition between "Western Marxism" and
Leninlism based on recognizing it as regional concept, so do Korsch, the
founder of "Western Marxism" and Merleau- Ponty who plays important role in
promoting "Western Marxism".This usage is accepted by many people in west
world. A Dictionary of Marxist Thought edited by Tom Bottomore defines
"Western Marxism" as follow: "The philosophical and theoretical formulations
of Western Marxism merged into political formulations that challenged
LENINISM."
Many domestic scholars have put forward that in spite of the various
usage of "Western Marxism" in west world, we don't need to debate which
usage has authority and is scientific, and what we should do is to seek common
ground while overcoming the differences and get a relatively common usage
.There is a consensus: if it meets the following three conditions it can be
belonged to "Western Marxism": Firstly, "Western Marxism" has a regional
meaning and belongs to western theorists above all; Secondly, "West Marxism"
is an important trend of Marxism, so its proposer must be sure that he himself/
she herself is the supporter and believer, that is to say that they call
themselves as Marxists; Thirdly, as a unique Marxism, "Western Marxism"
should differ from "traditional Marxisms", that is to say that they must differ
from the theories resulted from the Second International, the Third
International and the Fourth International, etc.
5. Three important places for studying "Western Marxism" in China
In our country almost all the key universities and research institutions of
philosophy and social scienceshave professional scholars to study "Western
Congrès Marx International VI, septembre 2010, Section Philosophie, Chen Xue-ming
Marxism". Undoubtedly however it is Fudan University, Nanjing University and
Heilongjiang University which have the most intensive research power, the
most fruitful research achievements and the longest research time. These
three universities are the important places for studying "Western Marxism" in
China.
Fudan university had "an office of Western Marxism" derived from the
office of modern western philosophy in early 1980s. It established the Center
for Contemporary Marxism Abroad of Fudan University based on this office in
late the 20th century. And soon this center was chosen as the key base for
research of humanities and social sciences of the Ministry of Education. Last
year, this centre also was classified as the national innovation base of research
of humanities and social sciences. They have researched on "Western
Marxism" for over 30 years. They insist on the combination of research on
"Western Marxist" basic theories and tracking-studying of "Western Marxist"
latest theories together, and uniting the research of "Western Marxism" with
research of modern western philosophy and Marxism together. And they pay
more attention to find illuminating sources from ""Western Marxism" for a
series of important issues in current society. They have stronger "consciousness
of problem", that means to study "Western Marxism" for some major issues.
They have doctoral programme of "Western Marxism" for doctoral candidates
specializing in "Western Marxism".
The research of "Western Marxism" in Nanjing university has its
outstanding characteristics: to emphasize the research of texts of "Western
Marxism" on the one hand, to stress comprehensive tracking-research of the
newest representatives and trends of "Western Marxism". They have studied
deeply the classic texts of "Western Marxism" such as Lukacs', Adorno's,
Althusser's and Sartre's, and have achieved great results. They arrange special
scholars to trace and study the newest trends and representatives of "Western
Marxism".
Recently they implement "strategical transfer" of research on "Western
Marxism":Making a decision to study "Western Marxism" closely integrated
with the national development strategy.
Heilongjiang university has formed a research team with strong fighting
power. Besides general research of "Western Marxism", they pay attention to
the theories of critique of culture and everyday life. And they have brought out
a series of attracting research achievements on the base of reflecting upon
cultural life and everyday life of current society.
Note ： The author is vice director of Center for Contemporary Marxism
Abroad of Fudan University, and president of Research Society of
Contemporary Marxism Abroad of China.
Congrès Marx International VI, septembre 2010, Section Philosophie, Chen Xue-ming