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Walter Benjamin and the Critique of Political Economy: A New Historical Materialism
Exploring the connections between Walter Benjamin's philosophy of history and a Marxian Critique of Political Economy, Duy Lap Nguyen analyses Benjamin's early writings and their development into a distinct understanding of historical materialism.
Benjamin's historically materialist conception of history is shown to be characterised by a focus on the religion of capitalism, the mythology of the state, and messianic time. Revealing these factors, Nguyen joins up Benjamin's philosophical critique of the Kantian conception of history, alongside the historical trajectory of capitalism he subscribed to. Influenced by the theory of fascism outlined by German Marxist theorist Karl Korsch, we see how Benjamin's own theory of revolution and redemption in capitalist society developed into a sophisticated critique.
Essential to Benjamin's materialist critique was a recognition of the fallibility of the Enlightenment notion of progress, as well as the need to overturn the political and economic catastrophes which enable capitalism and fascism to thrive. In mapping the exact course of Benjamin's critical historical materialism, Nguyen fully explicates the unique contribution he made to western Marxism.
Benjamin's historically materialist conception of history is shown to be characterised by a focus on the religion of capitalism, the mythology of the state, and messianic time. Revealing these factors, Nguyen joins up Benjamin's philosophical critique of the Kantian conception of history, alongside the historical trajectory of capitalism he subscribed to. Influenced by the theory of fascism outlined by German Marxist theorist Karl Korsch, we see how Benjamin's own theory of revolution and redemption in capitalist society developed into a sophisticated critique.
Essential to Benjamin's materialist critique was a recognition of the fallibility of the Enlightenment notion of progress, as well as the need to overturn the political and economic catastrophes which enable capitalism and fascism to thrive. In mapping the exact course of Benjamin's critical historical materialism, Nguyen fully explicates the unique contribution he made to western Marxism.
306 pages, Hardcover
Published August 11, 2022
37 people want to read
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March 10, 2025
This is an exceptionally lucid book, taking the reader through Benjamin's response to history and political economy through critiques of Blanqui, Nietzsche, Kant, Social Democratic ideology, Fourier and Bataille. Throughout it all, Nguyen argues that Benjamin offers an approach to time, history and political economy that exposes a thread that runs through these disparate thinkers, a thread that spatializes time whether as eternal recurrence, the task of teleological moral or political perfection, or
as erotism's infinite transgression and expenditure. Benjamin's critique of the variety of temporal experiences can be seen in a what Nguyen calls the hidden system that can be found in Benjamin's early mystical works, his Trauerspiel thesis, and his later Marxist works. In it, Benjamin counterposes the eternalizing times of Blanqui, Neitzsche, Kant, etc... which he interprets as iterations of the ideology of capitalist modes of production to his own messianic time of an unimproved humanity that seeks to annihilate the notion of progress.
as erotism's infinite transgression and expenditure. Benjamin's critique of the variety of temporal experiences can be seen in a what Nguyen calls the hidden system that can be found in Benjamin's early mystical works, his Trauerspiel thesis, and his later Marxist works. In it, Benjamin counterposes the eternalizing times of Blanqui, Neitzsche, Kant, etc... which he interprets as iterations of the ideology of capitalist modes of production to his own messianic time of an unimproved humanity that seeks to annihilate the notion of progress.
Displaying 1 of 1 review