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The Nature of Human Activity: A Critical Assessment of Arendt’s Views on Marx

Year 2019, Issue: 2, 116 - 128, 31.10.2019

Abstract

In this work I present some of Arendt’s criticisms
of Marx and assess whether these criticisms are fair. I claim that Arendt reads
Marx erroneously, which results in her failure to grasp certain similarities
between Marx and herself, at least on some points. It is important to mention
that Arendt’s interest in Marx is part of a wider project she pursues. She
believes that Marx’s theory might allow us to establish a link between
Bolshevism and the history of Western thought. Marx’s notion of history and
progress enables Arendt to support her claim that Marx’s theory involves totalitarian
elements. By way of correcting Arendt’s misreading of Marx, my purpose has been
to get a better understanding of the theories of Marx and Arendt, as well as to
see their incompatible views regarding the nature of human activity and of freedom.
Arendt charges Marx of ignoring the most central human activity, that is
‘action’; and of denying human beings a genuine political existence and
freedom. Furthermore, according to Arendt, Marx conceives labor as human being’s
highest activity and ignores the significance of other two activities, namely
work and action. In the last analysis, Marx and Arendt prioritizes distinct
human activities as the most central (labor and action, respectively) to human
beings; and as a result, they provide us two irreconcilable views of politics,
history and freedom.

References

  • Arendt, Hannah. (1998). The Human Condition, Second Ed. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Arendt, Hannah. (2006). On Revolution. London: Penguin Books. Arendt, Hannah. (Summer, 2002). Karl Marx and the Tradition of Western Political Thought. Social Research. Vol. 69, No. 2. pp. 273-319. Arendt, Hannah. (1961a). The Concept of History: Ancient and Modern. In Between Past and Future (pp.41-91). New York: The Viking Press. Arendt, Hannah. (1961b). What is Freedom? In Between Past and Future (pp. 143-173). New York: The Viking Press.
  • Brenkert, George G. (1983). Marx’s Ethics of Freedom. New York: Routledge &Kegan Paul.
  • Canovan, Margaret. (1994). Hannah Arendt: A Reinterpretation of Her Political Thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Engels, Friedrich. 1978. “Speech at the Graveside of Karl Marx.” In: Robert C. Tucker (ed.). The Marx-Engels Reader, second ed. (pp. 681-682). New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
  • Hegel, George W. F. (1956). The History of Philosophy. New York: Dover Publications.
  • Marx, Karl. (1978a). Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844. In: Robert C. Tucker (ed.). The Marx-Engels Reader, second ed. (pp. 66-125). New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
  • Marx, Karl. (1978b). German Ideology. In: Robert C. Tucker (ed.). The Marx-Engels Reader, second ed. (pp.146-202). New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
  • Marx, Karl. (1978c). The Eighteenth Brumaire of Lois Bonaparte. In: Robert C. Tucker (ed.). The Marx-Engels Reader, second ed. (pp. 594-617). New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
  • Marx, Karl. (1978d). Capital. Vol. I. In: Robert C. Tucker (ed.). The Marx-Engels Reader, second ed. (pp. 294-438). New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
  • Marx, Karl. (1978e). 1867 Preface to the First German Edition. Capital. Vol. I. In: Robert C. Tucker (ed.). The Marx-Engels Reader, second ed. (pp. 294-302). New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
  • Marx, Karl. (1978f). Capital, Volume Three. In: Robert C. Tucker (ed.). The Marx-Engels Reader, second ed. (pp. 439-442). New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
  • Pitkin, Hanna Fenichel. (1998). The Attack of the Blob: Hannah Arendt’s Concept of the Social. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
  • Popper, Karl R. (1971). The Open Society and Its Enemies. Vol. 2. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
  • Popper, Karl R. (1961). The Poverty of Historicism. New York: Harper& Raw Publishers.
  • Sayers, Sean. (1998). Marxism and Human Nature. New York: Routledge.
  • Wood, Allan W. (2004). Karl Marx. New York: Routledge.

İnsan Etkinliğinin Doğası: Arendt’in Marx Üzerine Görüşlerinin Eleştirel Bir Değerlendirmesi

Year 2019, Issue: 2, 116 - 128, 31.10.2019

Abstract

Bu çalışmada Hannah Arendt’in Marx’a getirdiği bazı
temel eleştiriler değerlendirilecektir. Bu eleştiriler büyük oranda Arendt’in
yanlış ve hatta taraflı okumasının sonucu olmasına rağmen Marx ve Arendt
arasındaki benzerlikleri ve ayrışmaları anlamak açısından önemli başlangıç
noktalarıdır. Arendt’in Marx eleştirilerinin birçoğu onun 20 yy. totaliter
rejimlerinin kökenini Batı felsefesindeki bir takım düşünsel eğilimlerle
temellendirme projesinin bir parçasıdır. Arendt Marx’ın materyalist tarih
anlayışını, insanı maddi koşullar ve nesnel yasalar tarafından belirlenen
‘kuklalara’ indirgediği için reddeder. Bunun karşısına, insanı politik alanda
eyleyen ve konuşan ve bu ölçüde de özgür olan varlıklar olarak kavramsallaştıran
bir anlayışı koyar. Arendt’in eleştirileri bize insan etkinliğinin yani vita activa’nın çoğul yapısı (emek, iş
ve eylem) ve insanın birincil etkinliği ‘eylem’ ile özgürlük arasındaki
ilişkiye dair önemli saptamalarda bulunur. Buna karşın, Arendt’e göre Marx,
‘iş’ ve ‘emek’ (insanın inşa ettiği dünyanın kalıcılığı ile tüketim nesneleri)
arasındaki ayrımı göz ardı etmekte, insanın asıl etkinliği olan ‘eylem’i yok
saymakta ve insanın birincil etkinliği konumuna tarih boyunca en aşağı olarak
görülmüş ‘emek’i yerleştirmektedir. Görülecektir ki iki düşünür arasındaki
ayrışma nihayetinde insanın temel etkinliğinin ne olduğu noktasında
düğümlenmektedir: İnsan asıl olarak politik ve eyleyen bir varlık mıdır? Yoksa
üreten bir varlık mı? Sonuçta, bu çalışma boyunca vurgulanacak tüm
benzerliklerine rağmen Marx ve Arendt iki farklı insan etkinliği üzerinden
(emek ve eylem) bize iki farklı siyaset ve özgürlük anlayışı sunmaktadır.

References

  • Arendt, Hannah. (1998). The Human Condition, Second Ed. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Arendt, Hannah. (2006). On Revolution. London: Penguin Books. Arendt, Hannah. (Summer, 2002). Karl Marx and the Tradition of Western Political Thought. Social Research. Vol. 69, No. 2. pp. 273-319. Arendt, Hannah. (1961a). The Concept of History: Ancient and Modern. In Between Past and Future (pp.41-91). New York: The Viking Press. Arendt, Hannah. (1961b). What is Freedom? In Between Past and Future (pp. 143-173). New York: The Viking Press.
  • Brenkert, George G. (1983). Marx’s Ethics of Freedom. New York: Routledge &Kegan Paul.
  • Canovan, Margaret. (1994). Hannah Arendt: A Reinterpretation of Her Political Thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Engels, Friedrich. 1978. “Speech at the Graveside of Karl Marx.” In: Robert C. Tucker (ed.). The Marx-Engels Reader, second ed. (pp. 681-682). New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
  • Hegel, George W. F. (1956). The History of Philosophy. New York: Dover Publications.
  • Marx, Karl. (1978a). Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844. In: Robert C. Tucker (ed.). The Marx-Engels Reader, second ed. (pp. 66-125). New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
  • Marx, Karl. (1978b). German Ideology. In: Robert C. Tucker (ed.). The Marx-Engels Reader, second ed. (pp.146-202). New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
  • Marx, Karl. (1978c). The Eighteenth Brumaire of Lois Bonaparte. In: Robert C. Tucker (ed.). The Marx-Engels Reader, second ed. (pp. 594-617). New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
  • Marx, Karl. (1978d). Capital. Vol. I. In: Robert C. Tucker (ed.). The Marx-Engels Reader, second ed. (pp. 294-438). New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
  • Marx, Karl. (1978e). 1867 Preface to the First German Edition. Capital. Vol. I. In: Robert C. Tucker (ed.). The Marx-Engels Reader, second ed. (pp. 294-302). New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
  • Marx, Karl. (1978f). Capital, Volume Three. In: Robert C. Tucker (ed.). The Marx-Engels Reader, second ed. (pp. 439-442). New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
  • Pitkin, Hanna Fenichel. (1998). The Attack of the Blob: Hannah Arendt’s Concept of the Social. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
  • Popper, Karl R. (1971). The Open Society and Its Enemies. Vol. 2. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
  • Popper, Karl R. (1961). The Poverty of Historicism. New York: Harper& Raw Publishers.
  • Sayers, Sean. (1998). Marxism and Human Nature. New York: Routledge.
  • Wood, Allan W. (2004). Karl Marx. New York: Routledge.
There are 16 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Journal Section Makaleler
Authors

Tuğba Sevinç 0000-0001-5615-9908

Publication Date October 31, 2019
Published in Issue Year 2019 Issue: 2

Cite

APA Sevinç, T. (2019). The Nature of Human Activity: A Critical Assessment of Arendt’s Views on Marx. Kilikya Felsefe Dergisi(2), 116-128.
AMA Sevinç T. The Nature of Human Activity: A Critical Assessment of Arendt’s Views on Marx. KFD. October 2019;(2):116-128.
Chicago Sevinç, Tuğba. “The Nature of Human Activity: A Critical Assessment of Arendt’s Views on Marx”. Kilikya Felsefe Dergisi, no. 2 (October 2019): 116-28.
EndNote Sevinç T (October 1, 2019) The Nature of Human Activity: A Critical Assessment of Arendt’s Views on Marx. Kilikya Felsefe Dergisi 2 116–128.
IEEE T. Sevinç, “The Nature of Human Activity: A Critical Assessment of Arendt’s Views on Marx”, KFD, no. 2, pp. 116–128, October 2019.
ISNAD Sevinç, Tuğba. “The Nature of Human Activity: A Critical Assessment of Arendt’s Views on Marx”. Kilikya Felsefe Dergisi 2 (October 2019), 116-128.
JAMA Sevinç T. The Nature of Human Activity: A Critical Assessment of Arendt’s Views on Marx. KFD. 2019;:116–128.
MLA Sevinç, Tuğba. “The Nature of Human Activity: A Critical Assessment of Arendt’s Views on Marx”. Kilikya Felsefe Dergisi, no. 2, 2019, pp. 116-28.
Vancouver Sevinç T. The Nature of Human Activity: A Critical Assessment of Arendt’s Views on Marx. KFD. 2019(2):116-28.