Beyond Liberal Egalitarianism, Marx And Normative Social Theory In The Twenty-first Century (historical Materialism Book)

Progressive theorists and activists insist that contemporary capitalism is deeply flawed from a normative point of view. However, most accept the liberal egalitarian thesis that the serious shortcomings of market societies (financial excess, inequality, and so on) could be overcome with proper political regulation. Building on Marx's legacy, Tony Smith argues in 'Beyond Liberal Egalitarianism' that advocates of this thesis (Rawls, Habermas, Stiglitz, et al.) lack an adequate concept of capital and the state. These theorists also fail to comprehend new developments in world history ensuring that the 'destructive' aspects of capitalism increasingly outweigh whatever 'creative' elements it might continue to possess. Smith concludes that a normative social theory adequate to the twenty-first century must explicitly and unequivocally embrace socialism. ‎Contents 5 ‎Preface 9 ‎List of Figures 15 ‎Chapter 1. Liberal Egalitarianism 17 ‎Introduction 17 ‎Well-being 19 ‎Autonomous Agency 23 ‎Access to Resources 26 ‎The Development of Essential Capabilities 31 ‎Democratic Will-Formation 35 ‎Chapter 2. Towards a Liberal Egalitarian Normative Theory of Institutions 38 ‎The Household 38 ‎Market Production and Distribution 41 ‎The State 47 ‎Civil Society: The Public Sphere and Voluntary Associations 57 ‎The Regime of Global Governance 60 ‎Chapter 3. Misunderstandings, False Starts, Further Questions 67 ‎Some Marxian Objections to Liberal Egalitarianism 67 ‎Liberal Egalitarian Criticisms of Marx 78 ‎Conclusion 87 ‎Chapter 4. The Beginning Level of Marxian Theory 89 ‎The Beginning Level of Theoretical Abstraction (1): The Commodity, Value, Abstract Labour 90 ‎The Beginning Level of Theoretical Abstraction (2): Money 101 ‎Normative Considerations 107 ‎Conclusion 114 ‎Chapter 5. Marx’s Concept of Capital 119 ‎Marx’s Concept of Capital (1): Capital as a ‘Dominant Subject’ 119 ‎Ontological and Normative Implications of the General Formula of Capital 126 ‎Normative Implications 130 ‎Marx’s Concept of Capital (2): Capital as a ‘Pseudo-Subject’ 136 ‎Chapter 6. Human Flourishing and the Structural Tendencies of Capitalism 147 ‎The Capital/Wage Labour Relationship 148 ‎Overaccumulation Crises 160 ‎Financial Crises 164 ‎Environmental Crises 172 ‎Severe Global Inequality and Poverty 173 ‎Conclusion 176 ‎Chapter 7. A Liberal Egalitarian Response to the Marxian Challenge 178 ‎The Critique of Economism 179 ‎A Reform Agenda 181 ‎Chapter 8. Towards a Marxian Theory of ‘The Political’ 199 ‎Five Theses on the Capitalist State 199 ‎A Critical Examination of Liberal Egalitarian Proposals 207 ‎Conclusion 231 ‎Chapter 9. Competing Perspectives on Neoliberalism 234 ‎A Liberal Egalitarian Narrative 235 ‎Beyond Liberal Egalitarianism: A Marxian Critique of Neoliberalism 245 ‎Conclusion 270 ‎Chapter 10. Two Modified Versions of Liberal Egalitarianism 278 ‎‘Neo-Schumpeterian’ Liberal Egalitarianism 279 ‎The Normative Promise of ‘Commons-Based Peer Production’ 285 ‎Chapter 11. Modified Liberal Egalitarianism and the Present Moment in World History 295 ‎Prospects for a New ‘Golden Age’ 295 ‎The Prospects of Commons-Based Peer Production 309 ‎Conclusion 325 ‎Chapter 12. Property-Owning Democracy: A Liberal Egalitarianism beyond Capitalism? 328 ‎Property-Owning Democracy (1) 330 ‎Property-Owning Democracy (2) 335 ‎Property-Owning Democracy (3) 340 ‎Chapter 13. Beyond Liberal Egalitarianism 351 ‎The Argument Thus Far 351 ‎Beyond Liberal Egalitarianism 357 ‎Bibliography 369 ‎Index 386 Progressive theorists and activists insist that contemporary capitalism is deeply flawed from a normative point of view. However, most accept the liberal egalitarian thesis that the serious shortcomings of market societies (financial excess, inequality, and so on) could be overcome with proper political regulation. Building on Marx's legacy, Tony Smith argues in Beyond Liberal Egalitarianism that advocates of this thesis (Rawls, Habermas, Stiglitz, and others) lack an adequate concept of capital and the state. These theorists also fail to comprehend new developments in world history ensuring that the 'destructive' aspects of capitalism increasingly outweigh whatever 'creative' elements it might continue to possess. Smith concludes that a normative social theory adequate to the twenty-first century must explicitly and unequivocally embrace socialism.