Power is not merely a question of violence or ideology, of domination and privilege, but is inscribed in the social relations of a capitalist society. The meaning of this is explained by Søren Mau in his book “Stummer Zwang – Eine marxistische Analyse der ökonomischen Macht im Kapitalismus,” published by Dietz-Verlag (https://dietzberlin.de/produkt/stummer-zwang/).
In it, the Danish Marxist and co-editor of the journal Historical Materialism criticizes other Marxist approaches, such as those of Louis Althusser, who focused on the ideological state apparatuses like the school, but also postmodern thought leaders such as Michel Foucault, who is often referenced in postcolonialism, critical whiteness and queer feminism works, and the left-wing populism of Chantal Mouffe and Ernesto Laclau.
The Arbeitskreis Gesellschaftskritik (AKGK, held in German) will discuss Mau’s book in sections over the next weeks and months. We will cover pages 249 bis 267 in the next online meeting on Monday, February 19, at 7:30 pm. (https://lecture.senfcall.de/tho-o60-uzl-ca8)
The AK emerged from a “Kapital” reading group at the DGB-Bildungswerk in Munich. We dealt with topics like understanding the state, economic crises, programs of left organizations and, most recently, class analysis. In the fall of 2020, we had to switch to a digital format because of the Corona pandemic. With that, our Munich circle became a nationwide, sometimes even international, exchange we no longer want to miss. The meetings will therefore be held online also from now on.
- We usually meet every third Monday of the month and deal with a selected text, which everyone should have read beforehand and which is then worked through together.
- It is, therefore, neither a lecture nor an introductory series. We are a study group.
- Interested people can join the series at any time.
- If you would like to be added to the mailing list, please get in touch with us at the following email address: klassenanalyse@posteo.de
- For the meetings, we use the same link: https://lecture.senfcall.de/tho-o60-uzl-ca8
