The three engines in Marx’s social theory: Towards a renewal of the left

Abstract

In the article I present the general outline of a new interpretation of the characteristics and constitutive elements of Marx’s modern project. There is now a broad consensus that the recovery and updating of the intellectual project of the German sociologist becomes a sine qua non condition for the renewal of the Left worldwide. The central premise that I will sustain in this work is that Marxian theoretical practice is composed of three motors, irreducible to each other and inherently related: a rational-scientific engine, a critical engine and a transformative engine. One of the key misleadings of Marxism in the last two decades is produced by the failure to understand the relationships that Marx sets between the abovementioned engines. In this article I will try to demonstrate that there is primacy of the scientific motor in the three-engine dynamics of Marx’s theoretical practice. Acceptance of such a record entails, among other aspects, a thorough review of the anti-capitalist dispositions of the Left today, as well as the horizon of post-capitalist expectations.