On a question of orthodoxy

Abstract

AbstractJudging from the main point of the replies received, a Marxist position which does not accept a dialogue with social psychology is not allowed. To indicate that such a position is Marxist only in name, and thus usurped, we are rapidly accused of economism, qualified as ‘orthodox’ and finally, last but not least, given the label ‘Stalinist’.The psycho‐sociologists are firmly locked up in the rhetoric of the dilemma. The two positions — theoretical and political — which are presented in the reply by Morton Deutsch are in reality complementary: Their common characteristic is that they forget the main point of Marxism‐Leninism, the thesis of the primacy of the class struggle. To accept social psychology without asking oneself questions about its meaning, or to ignore social psychology by considering it as an out‐of‐date ideology, leads to the same result, namely, leaving open the place of a Marxist‐Leninist theory of ideology.