[Marxism] New Yorker profiles Naomi Klein

[Gary MacLennan]

Hi Mehmet,

Please forgive  if I have misread your post. I read you as saying that we
need to move beyond ideological illusions, but we cannot do so, because the
alternative has to be another ideology. Yet you appear to want to say that
we need to replace the current dominant ideology with Marxist ideology.  I
have listened to the Zizek interview and my god how he rambles all over the
place.

But let me take what I think you are referring to namely the question of
which interpretation will predominate.  Now the problem here is that Zizek
equates interpretation with narrative.  I would make a distinction between
them.  Interpretation I would like to explanation, analysis and ultimately
to a notion of truth -especially Bhaskar's concept of truth as alethia or
the reason for things.

It is this then that enables us to judge rationally  between competing
interpretations .  Now interpretations need to be packaged and if they are
placed within a coherent narrative framework they can accumulate political
efficacy or rhetorical power. But we should not reduce the moment of
interpretation to the moment of rhetoric.

That is why I would refuse the notion that Marxism is simply another
narrative.  I would argue rather that Marx's analysis of surplus value is
truer than competing explanations. Now if we had a level playing field then
I have no doubt we could fashion a narrative around Marxian theory which
would win mass approval.  But of course we live in a world where it is still
dangerous for a Marxist to challenge the system effectively. Think of what
happened to Allende.  The CIA did not reduce the contest to a matter of
competing narratives or interpretations, they went in and killed him.

Of course what that did was to reveal once again the two-fold nature of
bourgeois thought.  It swings wildly between vulgar materialism ("Get
Allende") and idealism (it's all a matter of competing narratives").

So where are we now?  We leftists are of course totally marginalised. But
the economic crisis has opened a small space for us to give our
interpretation of what is happening.  Here of course we have the advantage
of the work done on crises by Kalecki, Grossman and others.  Thee are real
solid achievements and we should let the likes of Zizek to confuse us about
this.

And to return to the Obama thread, the truth of Obama will out.  He will see
to it personally that those who voted for him will come to realise they were
deluded. I remain convinced that all the talk of ideology and narratives
will not be able to withstand the power of Marxist interpretation.

regards

Gary