John Holloway

[anomaly]

At the Marxist-humanist network here at Purdue, we're reading Change the World Without Taking Power by John Holloway, an autonomist Marxist. So, anyone who has read this book, I'm wondering what you thought. So far, I think the ideas are pretty good, however I can't say I care too much for the murky world of dialectics in which Holloway is absorbed.

Any input is appreciated.

[Marion]

I think your views will largely be dependent on your opinions of autonomist Marxism and the Open Marxism that came out of it. There's a lot of stuff I really like about it, but sometimes I reckon that he pushes things too far.

For example, when he was involved in the London Edinburgh Weekend Return Group they came out with "In and Against the State" (pretty influential) and argued that the State should not just be seen as an institution, but should also be seen as a social relationship. In "Change the World..." he almost seems to be arguing that it should only be seen as the latter.

There's an Argentinian (I think) web-page with a lot of articles about the book (many in English) which is worth looking at - http://www.herramienta.com.ar/modules.php?...=article&sid=34 (http://www.herramienta.com.ar/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=34). Most of the academic criticism seems to say that he's got some really useful insights on fetishism, but that practically he's not much use. The classic case is his eventual admission that we don't know how to change the world - I felt it was fairly honest and liberating but a number understandably felt it was a cop-out, especially given the title of the book!

PS It's been a while since I've read the book, but I'm not sure how much Holloway buys into dialectics as normally expressed. He's a lot more into basic class antagonism.