Marxism. Emergence of social freedom in modernity: Rousseau / Smith / Kant / Constant / Hegel

Emergence of social freedom in modernity: Rousseau / Smith / Kant / Constant / Hegel (CHOOSE ONE OR TWO TEXTS)

All of the writings we have read in the first section of this course have been concerned with the question and problem of social freedom, and the specific conditions of freedom for and in modern society. –To this extent, all may be considered “liberal,” defining the various conditions for modern emancipatory political, social, and economic discourse and practice in their moment of emergence.

Historically, the context for these writings was determined in large part by the dominance of the British and other European powers in the emerging global capitalist system of modern civilization, especially after the English Civil War and the Dutch War of Independence of the 17th Century opening possibilities for capitalism. –Later, the American and French Revolutions expressed and further radicalized the development of modern society that undermined and overthrew the traditional social forms in Europe –and, indeed, throughout the entire world.

One enduring theme in these texts is the relation of the desiderata of individual-personal freedom and the inalienable rights of the human individual (the freedom to determine and pursue personal potentials and goals/ends) and those of collective-social freedom (the freedom to determine and pursue the possible ends/purposes of society as a whole), and how these different aspect of freedom can be seen to serve and further one another. –All these writings seek to reconcile these different aspects of the demand for freedom in an open-ended manner. Other, related issues raised in the texts concern the relation of state and society, especially in light of the development of civil society as a formation of public and private spheres.

All these texts sought to provoke recognition of changed social conditions in modernity and both critiqued and sought to press further the prevailing social forces towards the betterment of human ends; in the terminology of Jürgen Habermas (1981), all these writings sought to comprehend and participate in the “(incomplete) project” of social modernity.

Please choose one or two texts we have read in class by the above authors to discuss the issue of freedom–individual-personal and/or social-collective –in light of the specific modern social conditions addressed or implied in the texts. In a short paper (of~1,000 words, or 4-5 double-spaced pages)please discuss the matter of freedom as it emerged as an issue of social modernity.

Please read and write on your chosen text(s) in regard to the arguments’ plausibility: their resonance to the present. Please explore and pursue these arguments in terms of their (further) implications, and pay close attention to and cite explicitly the arguments in detail, those passages where categories and ideas are most powerfully defined and articulated, to concretize and support your interpretations of the text(s) and the greater thesis of your paper.

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