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Marx, Engels and the National Question
Solenberger, Peter
http://solidarity-us.org/atc/196/national-question/Date Written: 2018-09-01 Publisher: Against the Current Year Published: 2018 Resource Type: Article Cx Number: CX23408 A historical look at the role of class and nation-states in socialism. Abstract: -- Excerpt: In their 2000 book Empire, post-Marxist philosophers Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri postulated that imperialism, centered on nation-states, was being replaced by "Empire." The rulers were the United States and the rest of the G8, NATO, the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization and other international organizations, with the collaboration of multinational corporations and subordinate governments. The ruled were no longer the working class and oppressed nations but the "multitude," the collection of individuals oppressed by Empire, whose resistance would bring it down. In 2018 this post-Marxist view of the global order seems quaint. Donald Trump rants about making America great again. The G8 is gone, and the G7 and NATO are in shambles. The IMF and the WTO are shown to have no independent power.... In this article we'll focus on lessons Marx and Engels drew in their lifetimes about the national question. Much more was learned later, with the rise of imperialism and national libration struggles against it, but their insights provided the foundation. Subject Headings |