The Question of Ideology in Light of Perspectival Knowledge: The Truths of Marx and Nietzsche

Abstract

This article reflects on the political sensibilities of Marx and Nietzsche in light of their approaches to truth and illusion. Marx and Nietzsche are read in relation to one another in order to highlight a partial overlap between Nietzsche’s perspectival approach to truth and illusion and Marx’s investigation of ideology and its relation to political critique and class struggle. At stake is the possibility of undertaking critique and struggle absent secure or stable epistemological foundations. Walking the tightrope between Marx’s analyses of ideology and class struggle and Nietzsche’s critiques of attempts to ground and authoritatively justify universal claims to truth and falsity, this essay considers the character of political critiques and practices aimed at the realization of desires for material well-being and the cultivation of human freedom. Understanding Marx’s and Nietzsche’s epistemological projects in relation to one another compels fresh conceptualizations of the character and scope of emancipatory political projects.