Western modernization and Marxist political theory: an alternative to lib-eralism Modernização ocidental e teoria política marxista: uma alternativa ao liberalismo

Leno Francisco Danner

doi:10.5380/dp.v13i1.43060

Abstract

Starting from a critic to Conservative liberalism’s and to new left’s notion of the Western modernization as systemic institutional self-differentiation, self-referentiality and self-subsistence, I argue that such model of systemic theory regarding to the modernization leads both to the systemic institutional autonomy and closure in relation to a direct political praxis and to a binding notion of social normativity, and to the strong institutionalism in political economy and in political institutional praxis . Modernization from a systemic institutional perspective means that each social system has very proper and particular logic and dynamic, which are non-political and non-normative, just technical. So, systemic institutions become depoliticized, delegitimizing a model of radical democratic political praxis which can frame the social systems from an inclusive democratic participation based on a conception of social normativity. As consequence, systemic institutions centralize and monopolize the constitution, the legitimation and the evolution of their own field of social reproduction, closing and autonomizing it regarding the democratic political praxis and the social normativity. I argue that such conservative understanding of the Western modernization can be substituted by the Marxist understanding of the Western modernization, which is based on the comprehension of the society as a totality imbricated in its parts, i.e. the intersection between infrastructure and superstructure as the epistemological-political starting point both to a critical social theory and to a democratic political praxis . Such Marxist theoretical-political starting point enables a critical social theory and a leftist political praxis founded on the politicization of the social systems and their profound linking and rooting in the social world and as a political-normative dynamic.

Highlights

There is a hegemonic comprehension of the Western modernization which is shared by so different and conflictive theoretical-political positions such as the contemporary conservative liberalism (Friedrich August von Hayek, Milton Friedman and Robert Nozick) and the current new left ( Jürgen Habermas and Anthony Giddens
Which is that same understanding of the Western modernization shared by conservative liberalism and new left? That is the notion of Western modernization as systemic institutional self-differentiation, self-referentiality and self-subsistence
What it means? It means that Western modernization – first in the Europe and after in the rest of the world colonized by such kind of modernization – emerge and consolidate social systems which, as institutions, centralize and monopolize specific fields of the social reproduction as particular social fields with very proper logic and dynamic of functioning and programming, whose structuration and legitimation is strongly and basically internal to the very own social systems – capitalist market and modern State are the main examples of the Western modernization’s specificities, both in the new left and in the conservative liberalism

Summary

INTRODUCTION

There is a hegemonic comprehension of the Western modernization which is shared by so different and conflictive theoretical-political positions such as the contemporary conservative liberalism (Friedrich August von Hayek, Milton Friedman and Robert Nozick) and the current new left ( Jürgen Habermas and Anthony Giddens). The root of all contemporary political and epistemological problems concerning the global social-economic crisis and the failure of the Welfare States is such liberal conservative hegemonic comprehension of Western modernization as systemic institutional self‐differentiation, self‐referentiality and self-subsistence, which depoliticizes the constitution, the legitimation and the evolution of the social systems, weakening an inclusive democratic political praxis based on a notion of social normativity to frame and to orientate systemic institutional dynamic from use values, from exchange values. 151-168, abril de 2016 modernization against that liberal conservative comprehension: according to Karl Marx’s fundamental epistemological-political starting point, society is a totality which cannot be separated in self-referential, self-subsisting, autonomous and closed social systems based on technical and logical constitution and dynamic. I repeat, the political‐epistemological starting point to the understanding of the current crisis of the modernization, as to the grounding of an emancipatory democratic political praxis that faces the growing of the theoretical‐political conservatism

CONSERVATIVE LIBERAL COMPREHENSION OF THE WESTERN MODERNIZATION

NEW LEFTS’ COMPREHENSION OF THE WESTERN MODERNIZATION

MARX ON WESTERN MODERNIZATION: A PROPOSAL AND SOME CONCLUSIONS