Living Labour and the Labour of Living - A Little Tractate for Looking Forward Cover Image

Živi rad i rad na življenju - Maleni traktat za orijentaciju
Living Labour and the Labour of Living - A Little Tractate for Looking Forward

Author(s): Darko Suvin
Subject(s): Philosophy
Published by: Hrvatsko Filozofsko Društvo
Keywords: Epicure; Fourier; Marx; cognition; liberty; pleasure; cultural revolution; death-bringing economy; dialectic; measure; absolute swerve

Summary/Abstract: An approach to the insights of Marx indispensable for looking forward today understands them as a fusion of three domains and horizons (cognition, liberty, and pleasure), with a set of regulative principles (dialectic, measure, absolute swerve), and a focus on living labour. The discussion progresses from Epicure and Fourier to Marx's form-giving fire of living labour. Against this horizon, capitalism is discussed as a cultural revolution based on measuring labour by means of quantitative time, opposed to use-value qualities, as well as through the metaphors from horror fantasy which Marx found to be appropriate to such a revolution. Its alliance with entropy leads to alienation and loneliness, and finally to a death-bringing economy. An Appendix on political economy and entropy discusses the situation today and a minimum program of counter-measures, beginning with rejection of BNP as it is nowadays, and including minimizing entropy.

  • Issue Year: 24/2004
  • Issue No: 01
  • Page Range: 199-225
  • Page Count: 28
  • Language: Croatian