George Caffentzis: From the Grundrisse to Capital

From the Grundrisse to Capital and Beyond: Then and Now.
George Caffentzis, of the Midnight Notes Collective, will present his paper "From the Grundrisse to Capital and beyond: then and now", on Thursday March 27. This paper notes a curious parallel between Marx's transformation from the * Grundrisse* to *Capital* and the conceptual development of anti-capitalist thought since the 1960s. To capture this parallel the analysis operates on two levels. One level reflects themes in the Marxist texts of the 1850s and 1860s. It describes a transformation that takes place in Marx's thinking concerning the introduction of science and technology into the capitalist production process between the writing of the *Grundrisse* and the writing of *Capital*. The second level recapitulates this textual transformation on a historical plane, arguing that the introduction of science and technology into production in the second half of the 20th century is not leading to "the end of work," but rather is increasing the scope of exploitation and extending capitalism's historical trajectory. This outcome is having a far-reaching political impact on the anti-capitalist movement, especially in its evaluation of the revolutionary implications of "mental labor." The presentation will end with some political reflections on this impact. *George Caffentzis *is a professor in the Department of Philosophy, University of Southern Maine and a coordinator of the Committee for Academic Freedom in Africa. He is the author of the e-book "No Blood For Oil! Energy, Class Struggle, and War, 1998-2004", of the pamphlet "From Capitalist Crises to Proletarian Slavery: An Introduction to Class Struggle in the US, 1973-1998", and, with the Midnight Notes Collective, of "Midnight Oil: Work, Energy, War, 1973-1992" and "Auroras of the Zapatistas: Local & Global Struggles of the Fourth World War". All of his writings can be found at http://www.midnightnotes.org

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