Rethinking the Normative Content of Critical Theory Marx, Habermas and Beyond [Hardcover]

Marxism's chief failing is its substitution of a labour theory of value for the struggles of the labour movement. Consequently, Marxism rests on transhistorical categories that are vulnerable to his own critique of political economy. Jurgen Habermas and Axel Honneth seek to correct this by placing critical theory on a normative foundation. Unfortunately, they restrict this to the cultural sphere. By extending their notion of intersubjectivity to the economic system it can be viewed as an inactive form of morality which social movements influence in the course of their struggles.Dedication Preface Introduction PART I From Self-Constitution to Self-Objectification Marx's Critique of Political Economy Versus his Critique of Capitalism The Capitalization of Sociality and the Sociality of Exchange Marx, Morality and Exploitation PART II Communicative Action Labour and Morality Struggles for Moral Redemption Struggles for Social Welfare Concluding Remarks Bibliography IndexBOB CANNON is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of East London.