Hermeneutic communism : from Heidegger to Marx /

In this short, programmatic work, two widely published postmodern social theorists sketch out the philosophical backdrop for a version of communism separated from its foundations in war and scientism. Vattimo (emer., Univ. of Turin, Italy) and Zabala (Univ. of Barcelona, Spain) use Heidegger's critique of metaphysics to produce a Marxism recast in antifoundationalist terms. Since Marcuse, the articulation of Marx and Heidegger has been viewed as a tantalizing but highly problematic prospect from both sides of a considerable divide. Yet, these authors write as if the collapse of the institutions and hopes of what has come to be known as orthodox Marxism has removed that difficulty by taking Marxism's own metaphysical foundations along with it. The result that emerges is a "flexible" set of amorphous doctrines opposed to liberal capitalism. This approach is more focused on interpretation and reinterpretation of social circumstances than on concrete calls for revolutionary social transformation, refocused in particular away from industrial models of development and such matters as "equal distribution of wealth" toward what the authors vaguely call "cultural revolt." Less than an articulation of Marx and Heidegger, this work offers a vague, uncompelling sketch of the postmodern philosophical scenery for a politics that seems only incidentally concerned with Marxism. Summing Up: Not recommended. P. Amato Drexel University