The Concept of Primacy in Historical Explanation

Analyse & Kritik 4 (2):182-196 (1982)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

G.A. Cohen interprets Marx as a technological materialist: the productive forces are “primary” in history. There are several mistakes here. First, for Marx technology is neither always nor predominantly the direct stimulus - either causal or functional - of the social relations of production. Second, it is not even the case that for Marx primacy in explanation is a matter of being a direct stimulus. It has to do rather with being a framework that underlies interconnections between direct stimuli and their results. It turns out that this framework cannot be technology but only the relations of production. Third, technological development is not an autonomous process but is for Marx one that is dependent on the cooperation of producers. This introduces the political element of the class struggle into technological development and refutes a technological reading of why a given class rules.

Other Versions

No versions found

Links

PhilArchive



    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 103,388

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

Karl Marx's Theory of History. [REVIEW]S. M. J. - 1981 - Review of Metaphysics 35 (2):374-376.
The Marxian conception of the working class and the development of physics.Ji?I. Marek - 1983 - Studies in East European Thought 26 (2):143-150.
Marx on Historical Materialism.Michael Baur - 2017 - Gale Research Philosophy Series 1 and 2 (Internet Library Reference Database) (.

Analytics

Added to PP
2015-04-27

Downloads
32 (#741,023)

6 months
16 (#159,027)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

References found in this work

No references found.

Add more references