SCIENCE AND SOCIETY, JUSTICE AND EQUALITY: AN HISTORICAL APPROACH TO MARX (ARISTOTLE, MATERIALISM, MORALITY)

摘要

Marx presented his critique of capital in scientific terms, as unassailable fact, yet he denounced capital's origins and effects in moral tones of thunderous ferocity. Orthodox Marxists believe this tone stemmed not from moral theories, such as a theory of justice, but from analytical certainties afforded by his discovery of historical and dialectical materialism. Humanist Marxists contend his tone reflected a commitment to social equity.;Marx began Capital with the social and economic relations inherent to commodity production and the closely aligned problem of value. By these he sought to determine the source of wealth. Understanding the origin of wealth and the process of production meant that these could then be consciously, i.e., scientifically, directed and augmented. He introduced his critique by extensively quoting Aristotle's attempt to fix on a mechanism to decide, correctly, market valuations. Significantly, Aristotle's discussion centered on determining equivalents; the problem arose while discussing the issue of justice.;Equality and justice were synonyms in Greek, a language Marx knew well, having written a dissertation on Greek physics and having planned a career to teaching Greek philosophy. Without equivalent exchange, Aristotle held, no justice could exist, and without justice no society could hold together. For Marx the problems of equivalents in exchange and equilibrium in market forces comprised the key determinants of social and historical developments. Thus his repeated efforts to solve the "transformation problems." Equality took on quantitative as well as qualitative overtones. Successful equilibration of the exchange of good depended on thorough knowledge of the social and physical processes of production. Hence only a consciously applied scientific method could determine justice (equality); only such a "just" society could achieve full scientific efficiency, abundance, and human cooperation. Ethics, defined as the means of instituting just, humane social and technological orders, and science, a conscious method of meeting human needs, were therefore intimately interconnected and essential to economic analysis rather than consequential.;Chapters one and two examine the debate on the thesis problem. Three details historical data, particularly Marx's dissertation. Four investigates his texts for continuities and anomalies. Five reevaluates the problematic passages identified in chapter two with a contextualized account of Capital.