Why G. A. Cohen Can't Appeal to Charles Darwin to Help Him Defend Karl Marx (But Why Others Can)
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 20979326 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Paul Nolan (14 Bonny Grove Marton Middlesbrough TS8 9QZ United Kingdom), Paul M Nolan (Middlesbrough College, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2006 |
| Volume | 70 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 155-179 |
| Publication date | 2006-04-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Science & Society (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0036-8237 • E-ISSN: 1943-2801 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1521/siso.2006.70.2.155 |
| OpenAlex | W2033026457 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 18 |
A standard criticism of Cohen's account of historical materialism holds that, in the absence of an elaboration or mechanism, the consequence explanations that connect changes in economic structures (and superstructures) to productive development are less convincing than they could be (and perhaps need to be). Such an elaboration would show how the propensity of specific relations of production to enhance productive power could explain the spread of those relations, and thus changes in economic structures. Cohen provides such a mechanism in his rational-choice case for the explanatory primacy of productive forces over relations of production. This proposal, however, makes unreasonably strong assumptions concerning human knowledge and questionable empirical claims. By contrast, a Darwinian mechanism for historical materialism, which offers an alternative account of the explanatory primacy of productive power, is possible. This revision to the foundations of historical materialism has important implications for the way we conceive of both historical materialism and human history
Appeal · Criticism · Darwin (ADL) · Darwinism · Economics · Epistemology · Explanatory power · Historical materialism · Marxist philosophy · Materialism · Mechanism (biology) · Microeconomics · Neoclassical economics · Political science · Politics · Positive economics · Power (physics) · Production (economics) · Sociology · Economic Theory and Institutions · Law · Philosophy · Political Economy and Marxism
Human Nature and Social Change in the Marxist Conception of History
If You're an Egalitarian, How Come You’re So Rich?
Karl Marx's Theory of History
The Nature of Selection
A Reply to Paul Nolan's 'What's Darwinian About Historical Materialism? A Critique of Levine and Sober
Levine and Sober
What's Darwinian about Historical Materialism? A Critique of Levine and Sober
A question of attitude
Reply to Four Critics
Analytical Marxism and Historical Materialism
Guns, Germs and Steel
Death, Sex, and Fertility
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,11 |
| Citation span | 2008 - 2012 (5) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |