Normative Foundation of Modernity: Habermas’ Criticism of Marx and Its Limits—An Investigation Based on &amp;lt;i&amp;gt;The Philosophical Discourse of Modernity&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt;

Guo Tang

doi:10.4236/jss.2022.102015

Abstract

According to Habermas, the essence of modernity is subjectivity (subject rationality). Marx has put forward the modernity theory based on “labor” in The Manuscript of Economics and Philosophy in 1844. However, Habermas believed that there was still a single subject reason behind the concept of “labor”, which showed that there were problems in the normativity of Marx’s theory. According to Habermas, the normative foundation can only come from the free interaction between subjects at the rational level, and can be expressed as “dialogue” activities in the public domain when implemented in theoretical strategies. However, from the standpoint of historical materialism, the “capital” that Marx pays attention to constitutes the limit of Habermas’s “dialogue” activities.

Highlights

Speaking, critical activity can be regarded as a kind of “potential” dialogue activity
According to Habermas, the normative foundation can only come from the free interaction between subjects at the rational level, and can be expressed as “dialogue” activities in the public domain when implemented in theoretical strategies
In view of Habermas’s query on Marx’s normative basis, the academic circles mostly take the Reconstruction of Historical Materialism as the text to discuss, while ignoring the modernity perspective in the Philosophical Discourse of Modernity

Summary

Introduction

Critical activity can be regarded as a kind of “potential” dialogue activity. Any dialogue must follow certain explicit standards, such as logical consistency, focus on evidence, etc. These standards can be further abstracted into basic norms such as clarity, understanding and tolerance. In view of Habermas’s query on Marx’s normative basis, the academic circles mostly take the Reconstruction of Historical Materialism as the text to discuss, while ignoring the modernity perspective in the Philosophical Discourse of Modernity. This paper first clarifies the foundation of Marx’s criticism of Modernity: labor, takes the Philosophical Discourse of Modernity as the text, presents Habermas’s criticism of Marx’s concept of “labor”, leads to the two levels of Habermas’s normative foundation, and defends Marx from the standpoint of historical materialism

The Foundation of Marx’s Critique of Modernity

Tang DOI

Habermas’s Questioning of the Concept of “Labor”

The Normative Foundation of Habermas Theory

A Defense of Historical Materialism