Marxism and the Concept of a Social Formation: An Immanent Critique of the Views of Jairus Banaji

2022 ◽  
Vol 86 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-66
Author(s):  
Tony Burns
Keyword(s):  
Social Formation ◽  
Louis Althusser ◽  
Opposite Conclusion ◽  
Theoretical Assumptions ◽  
Immanent Critique ◽  
Second International

Jairus Banaji associates the concept of a social formation (involving modal combination, or the articulation of modes of production) with “vulgar Marxism.” This includes both the Marxism of the Second International and the structuralist Marxism of Louis Althusser. Banaji is critical of those Marxists who employ the concept because in his view they are insufficiently sensitive to the complexities of history. His reasons for thinking this may be subjected to an immanent critique. Such a critique attempts to show that, given an argument's starting assumptions, a different (perhaps even the opposite) conclusion from that which is drawn by its author is possible. Applying this idea to the work of Banaji, it can be demonstrated that his rejection of the concept of a social formation is not required by his own theoretical assumptions and that endorsement of the concept is consistent with them.

Towards a Notion of the Ideological Unconscious: Marx, Althusser, Juan Carlos Rodríguez

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 139-165
Author(s):  
Malcolm K. Read
Keyword(s):  
Present Article ◽  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Matrix Effect ◽  
Social Formation ◽  
Louis Althusser ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
History Of ◽  
To Come

Abstract In the context of the recent economic crisis, scholars have once again felt compelled to revisit the work of Louis Althusser, to reconsider some of his seminal insights, if only to repeat earlier criticisms. Regretfully, however, they remain unable to come to terms with the crucial Althusserian notion of ideological unconsciousness, which they insist on viewing through the prism of the libidinal (Lacanian) unconscious. Perforce, the latter concept, and its associated categories, has then proceeded insidiously to corrode Marxism’s indigenous equivalents from within. The present article traces the history of the ideological unconscious from its beginnings in Marx, through Althusser, to its explicit reformulation, in the work of the Spaniard, Juan Carlos Rodríguez, as an ideological unconscious, understood as the matrix effect of the social formation.

scholarly journals „Anders denken, anders sprechen“

2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (180) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Demirović
Keyword(s):  
Review Essay ◽  
Publishing House ◽  
Social Formation ◽  
Marxian Theory ◽  
Radical Theory ◽  
Louis Althusser ◽  
New Science ◽  
History Of ◽  
First Time

Originally published in 1965, Reading Capital is a landmark of radical theory. Previously only available in a highly abridged form, the publishing house Westfälisches Dampfboot and the translator Frieder O. Wolf make an unabridged edition available in German for the first time and restores original chapters by Roger Establet and Pierre Macherey. Louis Althusser and his scholars interpret Marx’s analysis as a revolutionary break—the basis of a completely new science. Demirovi? opens in his review essay the discussion about Reading capital. He refers not only the history of reception of misunderstanding and repression but also underlines why the contributions in Reading Capital underachieve the critical-marxian theory of capitalist social formation.

Behavioral and emotional differences between children of divorce and children from intact families: Clinical significance and mediating processes *This study is part of a dissertation () supported from the German research community.

2002 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Schick
Keyword(s):  
Self Esteem ◽  
Research Community ◽  
Children Of Divorce ◽  
Group Differences ◽  
Significant Group ◽  
Intact Families ◽  
Divorce Adjustment ◽  
Theoretical Assumptions ◽  
German Research ◽  
Clinically Significant

The following study is based on a sample of 241 9-13-year-old children (66 children from divorced parents, 175 children from non divorced parents). They were examined for differences regarding anxiety, self-esteem, different areas of competence, and degree of behavior problems. With a focus on the children’s experiences, the clinically significant differences were examined. Clinically significant differences, revealing more negative outcomes for the children of divorce, were only found for social anxiety and unstable performance. The frequency of clinical significant differences was independent of the length of time the parents had been separated. The perceived destructiveness of conflict between the parents one of four facets of interparental conflict in this study functioned as a central mediator of the statistically significant group differences. The children’s perception of the father’s social support was a less reliable indicator of variance. Further studies should try to make underlying theoretical assumptions about the effects of divorce more explicit, to distinguish clearly between mediating variables, and to investigate them with respect to specific divorce adjustment indicators.

Replication of Experiments Evaluating Impact of Psychological Distance on Moral Judgment

2014 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 223-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iris L. Žeželj ◽  
Biljana R. Jokić
Keyword(s):  
Moral Judgment ◽  
Social Distance ◽  
Psychological Distance ◽  
Temporal Distance ◽  
Construal Level ◽  
Systematic Effect ◽  
Replication Studies ◽  
Opposite Conclusion ◽  
Moral Transgressions ◽  
Replication Of Experiments

Eyal, Liberman, and Trope (2008) established that people judged moral transgressions more harshly and virtuous acts more positively when the acts were psychologically distant than close. In a series of conceptual and direct replications, Gong and Medin (2012) came to the opposite conclusion. Attempting to resolve these inconsistencies, we conducted four high-powered replication studies in which we varied temporal distance (Studies 1 and 3), social distance (Study 2) or construal level (Study 4), and registered their impact on moral judgment. We found no systematic effect of temporal distance, the effect of social distance consistent with Eyal et al., and the reversed effect of direct construal level manipulation, consistent with Gong and Medin. Possible explanations for the incompatible results are discussed.

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