Abstract

Since the 20th century, culture has gradually become the central discourse, becoming increasingly complex and difficult to understand. The current academic research on Marxist cultural theory is more based on the perspectives of cultural and political philosophy, while the inspection from the perspective of paradigm has not been fully reflected. This paper attempts to sort out the multi-dimensional paradigm analysis of Marxist cultural theory by British New Left and clarify how they solve the cultural crisis by reconstructing cultural concepts. Firstly, by re-exploring the relationship between culture and the base/ superstructure theory model, breaking the shackles of economic determinism and releasing the relative autonomy of culture. Secondly, focus on the materialist view of culture, criticize elitism, and stimulate the political liberation potential of culture. Finally, combine ideology and hegemony theory to solve the cultural structure and subject dilemma. After the transformation of multiple paradigms and theoretical disputes, British New Left has expanded the interpretation space of Marxist cultural theory, but it has also gradually fallen into the whirlpool of postmodernism and has drifted away from historical materialism.

Highlights

  • Since the 20th century, the cultural crisis triggered by modernity has always been an important issue faced by Western society and has gradually become the focus of research (e.g., Williams, 1983; Anderson, 1979; Lu, 2018)

  • This paper attempts to sort out the multi-dimensional paradigm analysis of Marxist cultural theory by British New Left and clarify how they solve the cultural crisis by reconstructing cultural concepts

  • After the transformation of multiple paradigms and theoretical disputes, British New Left has expanded the interpretation space of Marxist cultural theory, but it has gradually fallen into the whirlpool of postmodernism and has drifted away from historical materialism

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Summary

Introduction

Since the 20th century, the cultural crisis triggered by modernity has always been an important issue faced by Western society and has gradually become the focus of research (e.g., Williams, 1983; Anderson, 1979; Lu, 2018). The British New Left tried to start from experience, re-examine the relationship among culture, politics, and economy based on different analysis paradigms They try to emphasize the subjective agency and material meaning of culture and release the relative autonomy of culture (Williams, 1958; Thompson, 1957; Hoggart, 1957). The British New Left tried to base itself on the materialistic cultural outlook, criticize elitism, defend the culture of the working class from the perspective of multiple paradigms and analytical methods, and rectify the name of mass culture They try to explore the revolutionary cultural traditions of the working class, dissolve the opposition between mass culture and elite culture, and stimulate the political liberation potential of culture (Williams, 1958; Thompson, 1957; Hoggart, 1957). It breaks away from the critical framework of political economy, ignores the importance of class rule and state violence, and falls into the whirlpool of postmodernism

Theoretical Analysis from the Perspective of Historical Materialism
Conclusion
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