Open Marxism

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Open Marxism is a collection of critical and heterodox Marxist schools of thought which critique state socialism^[1] and party politics, stressing the need for openness to praxis and history through an anti-positivist method grounded in the "practical reflexivity" of Karl Marx's own concepts.^[2] The "openness" in open Marxism also refers to a non-deterministic view of history in which the unpredictability of class struggle is foregrounded.^[3]

It is very strongly anti-structuralist in both its Marxism–Leninist^[4] and Althusserian^[5] forms, and there are some overlaps with elements of post-Marxism.^[6] It often (though not always) aligns itself with humanist Marxism, and libertarian, anarchist or left communism.^[7] It draws strongly from value-form criticism.

Derrida describes an 'open' Marxist tradition in an interview from 1980.^[8] Alvin Gouldner also describes 'Two Marxisms' in the 1980s; one scientific, and one critical.^[9]

Originating from a term used by Agnoli in a debate with Ernest Mandel, Open Marxism began in the 80's as an effort to unite heterodox Marxist tendencies against the dogmatism of revisionist Marxism-Leninism, and mainstream sociological structuralist^[10] versions of Western Marxism, such as Althusserian Marxism and Gramscian cultural studies.^[11] Open Marxists returned to basic Marxist concepts such as value, labour and the state-form,^[12] and argued against social-democratic state-led and Marxist-Leninist party-led utilisations of Marxism.

The sources of critical, Open Marxism (sometimes called the 'warm stream of Marxism'^[13]) are many, from György Lukács' return to the philosophical roots of Marx's thinking, to council communism, the New Left, elements of Autonomism and situationism and also the Neue Marx-Lektüre of 70s Germany.^[14] Hegel is often the common thread within these tendencies.^[3]

Intellectual affinities with autonomist Marxism were especially strong and led to the creation of the journal The Commoner (2001–2012) following in the wake of previous open Marxist journals Arguments (1958–1962)^[15] and Common Sense (1987–1999).

In the 1970s and 1980s, state-derivationist debates around the separation of the economic and the political under capitalism unfolded in the working group Kapitalistate and the Conference of Socialist Economists^[16] journal Capital & Class, involving many of the theorists of Open Marxism and significantly influencing its theoretical development.^[17] Endnotes journal references itself as influenced by OM.^[11]

Three volumes entitled Open Marxism were published by Pluto Press in the 1990s. A fourth volume, again published by Pluto, appeared in 2020. The authorship of the latest volume showed how far the influence of Open Marxism has spread from Europe to Latin America.^[47]

Some scholars discuss the existence of an 'open Leninism', or a Neo-Leninism,^[48] that is, a critical^[49] Hegelian, or post-structural Leninism that is critical of Marxism-Leninism^[50] as it existed in the 20th century.^[51][52] The work of Lars T. Lih,^[53] Kevin B. Anderson,^[54] Kai Heron,^[55]Jodi Dean,^[56] Andreas Malm,^[57] Antonio Negri,^[58] Alberto Toscano^[59] and Slavoj Zizek^[60] have been representative of this trend.

Some critics have alleged that open Marxism is too open^[61]- a charge of 'subjectivism' ^[62] and 'voluntarism'^[63] is sometimes levelled, though its authors, particularly John Holloway have responded to this.^[64]

Others claim that open Marxist accounts tend to treat the national capitalist state abstractly, without reference to uneven and combined development and international forms of class struggle in the capitalist "world-system".^[65]

Like other forms of Marxism, it has been criticised for being totalising, universalising and Eurocentric.^[66]

• Antipositivism
• Anti-Stalinist left
• Autonomism
• Centrist Marxism
• Democratic confederalism
• Humanist Marxism
• Hegelian Marxism
• Parametric determinism
• Post-Marxism
• State derivation
• Third camp
• Value form
• Value criticism
• Western Marxism
• Zapatista Army of National Liberation

• Axelos, K. ([1976] 1961). Alienation, Techne and Praxis in the Thought of Karl Marx. Trans. R. Buzina. Austin: University of Texas Press.
• Axelos, K. (1984). Systematique ouverte (Open Systems). Les Editions de Minuit: Paris.
• Bonefeld, W., Gunn, R., Psychopedis, K. (Eds.)(1992). Open Marxism, vol. 1: Dialectics and History. London: Pluto Press (ISBN 978-0-7453-0590-5).
• Bonefeld, W., Gunn, R., Psychopedis, K. (Eds.)(1992). Open Marxism - vol. 2: Theory and Practice. London: Pluto Press (ISBN 978-0-7453-0591-2).
• Bonefeld, W., Holloway, J., Psychopedis, K. (Eds.)(1995). Open Marxism - vol. 3: Emancipating Marx. London: Pluto Press (ISBN 978-0-7453-0864-7).
• Bonefeld, W., and Psychopedis, K. (Eds.).(2005). Human Dignity: Social Autonomy and the Critique of Capitalism. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing Ltd.
• Clarke, S. (1983). "State, Class Struggle, and the Reproduction of Capital". Kapitalistate. Vol. 10 (11): pg. 118-33.
• Clarke, S. ed. (1991). The State Debate. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Cleaver, H. (1977). Reading Capital Politically. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press.
• Dinerstein, A., Garcia Vela, A. Gonzalez, E., Holloway, J. (2020). Open Marxism 4: Against a Closing World. London: Pluto.
• Holloway, J., Matamoros, F., Tischler, S. (2009). Negativity and Revolution: Adorno & Political Activism. London: Pluto Press (ISBN 978-987-22929-2-8)
• Holloway, J. (2002). Change the World Without Taking Power: The Meaning of Revolution Today. London: Pluto Press.

• Common Sense journal