Marx, Adorno, Bloch PDF
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The Ends of Utopian Thinking: Marx, Adorno, Bloch Nina Rismal Robinson College October 2017 This dissertation is submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Abstract The Ends of Utopian Thinking: Marx, Adorno, Bloch Nina Rismal My dissertation is concerned with utopian thinking in Critical Theory. It examines the changing conceptions of radically different social orders held by the associates of the Frankfurt School. Its aim is to investigate utopian thinking as a theoretical tool of a system of thought that is oriented towards social transformation. To bring about social transformation was the explicit objective of the Frankfurt School. And yet, as my dissertation demonstrates, some of the key member of the Frankfurt School discarded precisely this utopian tool. This rejection of utopian thinking is one of the central – but also one of the most problematic – aspects of Critical Theory. It goes back to the writings of Marx himself and culminates in the works of Theodor W. Adorno, specifically in his ‘Utopieverbot’ (prohibition of envisaging a utopian society). I argue that this Utopieverbot facilitated the disappearance of utopian thinking in Critical Theory, and furthermore, that it brought this system of thought to a standstill. In addition to the dissolution of utopian thinking my dissertation examines also its potential resuscitation. The foremost defender of utopian thinking I investigate is Ernst Bloch, a critical theorist overshadowed by Adorno himself. Countering Adorno, Bloch posited utopian thinking not only as a possible but also as a necessary theoretical tool of Critical Theory. I argue that Bloch’s ideas can be valuable in resolving the aporia of utopian thinking in Critical Theory. While important in its own right, this aporia is highly significant due to the enormous influence it exerted on the death of utopia in Western political thought, which can be seen as one of the key factors contributing to the escalating social, political and economic regressions of our contemporary era. Understanding the reasons behind the emergence of death of utopia, as well as its possible resolutions, thus present questions that urgently need to be addressed. When you walk through a storm Hold your head up high And don't be afraid of the dark At the end of a storm There's a golden sky And the sweet silver song of a lark Walk on through the wind Walk on through the rain Though your dreams be tossed and blown Walk on, walk on With hope in your heart And you'll never walk alone. ‘You will never walk alone’, Oscar Hammerstein II Prefatory Declarations 1 Acknowledgements 3 Abbreviations and Translations 5 INTRODUCTION 7 Utopia and utopian thinking 20 Critical Theory 27 A new perspective on contemporary Critical Theory 30 CHAPTER 1: Marx’s two utopian paradoxes 41 The deployment of the label ‘utopian’ and its consequences 41 Marx’s vision of the communist society 44 Utopia cannot be envisaged 53 Historical materialism as an impediment to creating new ideas 54 Imaginary vs. rational ideas 59 Utopian visions are insignificant 63 Objectivity of historical change: utopia cannot be enacted 63 Humans as rational beings: understanding leads to action 65 CHAPTER 2: The origins of Adorno’s Utopieverbot 69 Adorno and Marxist theory in the early twentieth century 69 What is the Utopieverbot? 71 From the Bilderverbot to the Utopieverbot 75 Marx’s influence on the Utopieverbot 78 The removal of utopia into the messianic future 83 Culture industry and utopian consciousness 87 The problem with identity thinking 90 CHAPTER 3: Negative utopia? 95 Positive utopia — a point of departure for negative thinking 100 Does determinate negation make sense? 107 The emergence of the positive in constellations 112 Something is missing 119 CHAPTER 4: Bloch’s rejection of the Utopieverbot 125 Bloch’s life and times 125 Utopia as the ‘Not-‐Yet’ 126 The warm and cold streams of Marxism 132 Bloch’s utopian society: ‘Heimat’ 138 The utopian core: ‘Invariant of Direction’ 143 Traces — experiences and expressions of utopia 145 Concrete utopian thinking 148 CHAPTER 5: An ontology of processual utopia 159 The prefigurations of utopia in the ‘Not-‐Yet-‐Conscious’ 160 Incompleteness of the world as the ‘Not-‐Yet-‐Become’ 168 The necessity of utopian thinking 170 Processual utopia and processual utopian thinking 175 CONCLUSION 181 Bibliography 199 Prefatory Declarations This dissertation is the result of my own work and includes nothing which is the outcome of any work done in collaboration. It is not substantially the same as any that I have submitted, or is being concurrently submitted for a degree or diploma or other qualification at the University of Cambridge or any other University or similar institution. I further state that no substantial part of my dissertation has already been submitted, or is being concurrently submitted for any such degree, diploma or other qualification at the University of Cambridge or any other University or similar institution. This dissertation does not exceed the word limit prescribed by the Degree Committee of the Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages, University of Cambridge. This dissertation is formatted in conformity with the Handbook for Authors, Editors, and Writers of Theses of the Modern Humanities Research Association. Santa Barbara, 17 October 2017. 2
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