Contradiction, Capitalism, and Reason

Abstract

This article argues that theories of contradiction in capitalism should be more austere and humbler than they have been traditionally. It describes how the theory of contradiction developed in Hegel’s and Marx’s thought, then offers a typology of theories of contradiction: economic, transcendental, and immanent. Theories of economic contradiction are narrow and overly functionalist and too often make failed prophecies. Theories of transcendental contradiction are broader, but they too are sometimes functionalist or rely on unjustifiable normative foundations. Theories of immanent contradiction avoid functionalism but either rely on unjustifiable normative foundations or do not describe a contradiction. The article concludes by arguing for a theory of the contradiction of capitalism based on seeing capitalism as a space of reasons. Such a theory of contradiction would not be predictive, it would not be functionalist, and it would not rely on normative foundations.