The Utopia of Herbert Marcuse Part 2: Freudianism

摘要

In the first part of the article we discussed the Marxian idea of abolition of labor, i.e. its centrality in Marx's first vision of communism and Marx's retreat from this idea in his late writings, and the resumption of this idea by Herbert Marcus, who turned it into the basis of liberation from all forms of exploitation and domination in his own teachings. In reviving the Marxian idea of abolition of labor Marcuse 'eroticized' non-instrumental production (non-labor production). In his mature teachings, erotic activity, in a broad sense, is identical with non-instrumental activity. He viewed the pleasure principle in Freud's theory as a principle that stands for non-instrumental activities and non-instrumental society in general. Freud's theory of culture actually describes the rise and triumph of non-erotic, instrumental society dominated by the reality principle. Socialism would turn again the pleasure principle (which also appeared in ancient hedonistic socio-philosophical streams) that has hitherto been suppressed in the course of human history, into the new basis of society. Thus, productive activity would become play, or sensuous artistic activity. This new, sensuous activity (sensuous, 'erotic' non-labor) would become pivotal in the new, non-exploitative social relations, also envisaged as 'feminist socialism'.