EDITORIAL PERSPECTIVES (continued)
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IN THIS ISSUE
Value theory is the attempt, within the Marxist tradition, to grasp
the most fundamental, not easily observable, levels of social
reality. And the ecological dimension of capitalist functioning --
crisis, transcendence of crisis, counter-struggles -- is, in
several obvious ways, of ever-increasing importance. Many writers
on one of these topics are more or less oblivious to the other one.
Not so Andrianna Vlachou, political economist from Athens, who
brings "Nature and Value Theory" together in an insightful and
thoughtful study. Vlachou's serious approach, grounded in the
overdeterminist or post-Althusserian tradition, identifies ways in
which ecological effects of capitalist accumulation both are and
are not reflected in capitalism's own calculations, and sees the
eventual outcome of this process as rooted in multiple
contradictions and the struggles waged over them.
Tony Burns, in his study "Joseph Dietzgen and the History of
Marxism," looks again at this remarkable and still little known
German printer who independently developed the essential doctrines
of (what came to be called) Marxism; in fact, the first use of the
term "dialectical materialism" is attributed to him. Burns
emphasizes Dietzgen's contribution to philosophy, especially his
attempt to overcome what he saw as the one-sidedness of both
classical materialism and idealism, and his early emphasis on
psychology in relation to consciousness. Recalling Dietzgen's
original contributions today contributes to our understanding of a
number of present-day debates -- especially the rift between
"orthodox" and "Hegelian" or "western" Marxism.
In "Forms of Physical Determination," Eftichios Bitsakis,
long-time S&S contributor and distinguished Greek physicist and
left political activist, addresses the well-known Copenhagen
Interpretation of quantum microphysics. He argues that, with a
suitable grasp of the concept of interaction, quantum mechanical
phenomena do not contradict realist philosophical principles, in
particular causality and locality. Bitsakis' study at the
intersection of philosophy and modern microphysics will be
challenging for readers with little background in physics, but
worthwhile nonetheless. We do not claim to be able to overcome the
disciplinary divides in a single stroke, but rather cite the
rewards of perseverance and patience in the study of fields some
find intimidating, such as physics and economics! Bitsakis'
concept of co-evolution of physics and philosophy -- our
materialism itself grows and develops as knowledge expands -- is
particularly intriguing.
In his Communication, "Marx's Doctrine of Wage Labor," Kenneth
Lapides continues a discussion aired in our pages almost a decage
ago, concerning the ontological status of Capital: Is Marx's basic
theoretical work essentially complete, or is there a "missing book"
developing the political economy of the workers in opposition to
determination by capital? This discussion has important
implications for the ways in which Marxist political economy should
be pursued today, and will surely continue.
We are pleased to present a brief memoir from Dr. Herbert
Aptheker, "The Last Days: Some Memories of the War." Aptheker's
own contributions to S&S go back to Volume I, in 1936, and this
opportunity to present a small primary historical account from his
own experience in command with the U.S. forces in World War II
continues a long and fruitful association.
Also in the realm of original publication, we present here for
the first time a review of Trotsky's Diary in Exile (1958), written
at that time by the noted social psychologist and social theorist
Erich Fromm. The context is explained in Kevin Anderson's
Introduction; our thanks to Rainer Funk, Erich Fromm's literary
executor, for permission to publish this short work from the
beginning of the period of Fromm's re-turn towards Marx, which
culminated in his highly useful Marx's Concept of Man (1961).
We conclude with two review articles. Derek Lovejoy ("Biology
as Ideology") examines three recent books, two by Richard Lewontin,
one by Ullica Segerstråle, addressing the "sociobiology debate" and
the role of the genome in shaping human realities and possibilities
(see the first section of this "Editorial Perspectives"). And John
Pittman dissects the new use of the early Marx essayed in Daniel
Brudney's Marx's Attempt to Leave Philosophpy. At issue, as so
often, is the question whether the philosophy, wherein resides
Marx's "vision of the good life," can or must be separated from the
science, site of the practices that may tell us how eventually to
get there.
D. L.
