None So Fit to Break the Chains: Marx's Ethics of Self-Emancipation: Marx's Ethics of Self-Emancipation

In None so Fit to Break the Chains Dan Swain offers an interpretation of Marx's ethics that foregrounds his commitment to working-class self-emancipation and argues for the continued relevance of this principle for contemporary politics. Self-emancipation is frequently overlooked in discussions of Marx's ethics, but it deeply influenced his criticism of capitalism, his approach towards an alternative, and his conception of his own role as activist and theorist. Foregrounding self-emancipation offers new perspectives on existing debates in the interpretation of Marx, such as the meanings of concepts like alienation, exploitation and utopianism, and can also offer broader insights into the relationship between critical theory and practice that have an enduring relevance today. ‎Contents 5 ‎Acknowledgements 7 ‎Note on References 8 ‎Introduction 9 ‎1. ‘Our Notion from the Very Beginning’ 9 ‎2. Ethics and Politics 13 ‎3. Overview of Chapters 16 ‎Chapter 1. Prometheus Plus Spartacus 19 ‎1. Introduction 19 ‎2. The Action of Freedom 21 ‎3. Labour and Objectification 27 ‎4. Democracy 35 ‎Chapter 2. From Freedom to Self-Emancipation 44 ‎1. Introduction 44 ‎2. Reckonings 46 ‎3. Linking the Present to the Future 54 ‎4. Educating the Educator 63 ‎Chapter 3. Historical Materialism and Self-Emancipation 72 ‎1. History and Prophecy 72 ‎2. False Starts 77 ‎3. History as Constraint 81 ‎4. It’s Been Coming! – Determination and Inevitability 85 ‎5. History and Strategy 91 ‎Chapter 4. Communism, Utopia and Vision 97 ‎1. Introduction 97 ‎2. Communism as Vision 100 ‎3. Whose Ideals, Whose Society? 103 ‎4. Utopia Negativa 115 ‎Chapter 5. Exploitation, Justice and Freedom 126 ‎1. Introduction 126 ‎2. Exploitation and Justice 130 ‎3. Mutato Nomine de te Fabula Narratur 134 ‎4. The Wedges of Hephaestus 142 ‎Chapter 6. Alienation, Human Nature, Human Good 151 ‎1. Introduction 151 ‎2. Marx and Human Nature 156 ‎3. Revolutionary Aristotelianism and Its Limits 163 ‎4. The Human Bad 168 ‎Chapter 7. Denouncing the Abyss 174 ‎1. Politics and the Political 174 ‎2. Politicising and Depoliticising 177 ‎3. Demanding, Smashing, Seizing 183 ‎4. Politics and Self-Emancipation 190 ‎Chapter 8. Self-Emancipation and Revolutionary Practice 196 ‎1. Introduction 196 ‎2. Leon Trotsky and the Interdependence of Means and Ends 197 ‎3. Stephen D’Arcy and the Democratic Standard for Militancy 202 ‎4. Georg Lukács and the Actuality of Revolution 206 ‎5. Jane McAlevey and Whole Worker Organising 213 ‎6. Conclusion (Once More on Theory and Practice) 217 ‎Bibliography 221 ‎Index 229 "In None so Fit to Break the Chains Dan Swain offers an interpretation of Marx's ethics that foregrounds his commitment to working class self-emancipation and uses it as a guiding thread to interpret a number of different aspects of Marx's ethical thought. This commitment is frequently overlooked in discussions of Marx's ethics, but it deeply influenced his criticism of capitalism, his approach towards an alternative, and his conception of his own role as activist and theorist. Foregrounding self-emancipation offers new perspectives on various existing debates in the interpretation of Marx, such as the meanings of concepts like alienation, exploitation and utopianism, and can also offer insights into broader questions of the relationship between critical theory and practice"-- Provided by publisher In None so Fit to Break the Chains Dan Swain offers an interpretation of Marx's ethics that foregrounds his commitment to working class self-emancipation and uses it as a guiding thread to interpret the different aspects of Marx's ethical thought.