Basslines, brains, bits, bytes, and burgers: Working with, and within the limits to, Marxism

Alistair Fraser

doi:10.1177/19427786211037064

Abstract

This paper considers some of what it means to work with, and within the limits to, Marxism. I make reference to two sets of inquiries where Marxism matters but remains at the margins of things. My focus will be on human cognition and digital life. To balance things, I then highlight some issues where Marxism is much more to the fore, specifically what I loosely refer to as "foodscapes." Finally, I conclude the essay with some further personal comments on my engagement with Marxism. Throughout, I want to give some expression to the sensation of walking a fine line between remaining committed to the conclusion that capitalist social relations are an enormous problem for human society but finding also that Marxism does not provide enough of the analytical equipment to answer how we should move beyond it. At the same time, I try to offer reflections on critical intellectual thought and action as a tentative and iterative experience, rather than an engagement framed by the security that one can find enough of what’s needed in Marxism.

Highlights

BasslinesWhen I began writing this essay, I had a 3-h r mix from 2011 by DJ Loxy playing in the background
We occupy a planet of unpredictability that requires a form of geographical analysis capable of focusing on the chance of capitalism and the chance, too, of an alternative emerging from within it. When it comes to digital life, Marxism prompts questions and analytical focal points, but my tentative view—“tentative” because we remain at an early stage in the development of digital life—is that contributions from a Marxist standpoint still lie at the margins of things
I have used the preceding materials to provide some sense of my relationship with Marxism

Summary

Introduction

BasslinesWhen I began writing this essay, I had a 3-h r mix from 2011 by DJ Loxy playing in the background. Drum and bass music, foodscapes, human cognition, Marxism I do so in response to Marxist geography, which makes the case for always thinking about the spatial dimensions and dynamics of capitalist social relations while calling for alternative and non-c apitalist geographical arrangements that can deliver a better life for all.

Results

Conclusion