The Problem of Class Abstractionism

IF 4.1 1区 社会学 Q1 SOCIOLOGY Sociological Theory Pub Date : 2023-02-01 DOI:10.1177/07352751231152489
M. McCarthy, M. Desan
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引用次数: 1

Abstract

With renewed interest in Marxism, class is back on the intellectual agenda. But so too is the familiar charge of “class reductionism.” This charge conflates two distinct claims regarding what we term the structural and political primacy of class. Structural primacy refers to the determinant role of class in social explanation, whereas political primacy refers to its centrality in radical politics. Crossing these distinct claims, we identify four possible positions on the primacy of class. Here, we focus on the two that affirm the structural primacy of class. What we call “class abstractionism,” which presumes to derive the political primacy of class from an account of its structural primacy, ultimately relies on an abstract conception of class that effectively presupposes its political primacy. In contrast, a more adequate account of structural primacy—what we call “class dynamism”—requires us to abandon the presupposition of class’s necessary political primacy.
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阶级抽象主义问题
随着对马克思主义重新产生兴趣,阶级又回到了知识分子的议程上。但是,对“阶级简化论”的熟悉指控也是如此。这一指控结合了两种截然不同的主张,即我们所说的阶级的结构和政治首要地位。结构首要是指阶级在社会解释中的决定性作用,而政治首要是指阶级在激进政治中的中心地位。通过这些不同的主张,我们确定了四种关于阶级首要地位的可能立场。在这里,我们关注的是肯定阶级在结构上的首要地位的两种观点。我们所说的“阶级抽象主义”,它假定阶级的政治首要地位来源于对阶级结构首要地位的解释,最终依赖于一个抽象的阶级概念,它有效地预设了阶级的政治首要地位。相比之下,对结构上的首要地位的更充分的解释——我们称之为“阶级动力”——要求我们放弃阶级必要的政治首要地位的前提。
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来源期刊
Sociological Theory
Sociological Theory SOCIOLOGY-
CiteScore
6.90
自引率
6.80%
发文量
16
期刊介绍: Published for the American Sociological Association, this important journal covers the full range of sociological theory - from ethnomethodology to world systems analysis, from commentaries on the classics to the latest cutting-edge ideas, and from re-examinations of neglected theorists to metatheoretical inquiries. Its themes and contributions are interdisciplinary, its orientation pluralistic, its pages open to commentary and debate. Renowned for publishing the best international research and scholarship, Sociological Theory is essential reading for sociologists and social theorists alike.
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