Operaismo and the Wicked Problem of Organization
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Authors
The “problem of organization” has long been a core preoccupation of
the Marxist tradition and labour movements. This article argues it is
best understood as what some social planners call a “wicked problem,”
one that cannot ultimately be “solved,” only “re-solved—over and over
again.” It identifies a set of hallmark theoretical tools developed by
the Italian Marxian tradition of operaismo (sometimes referred to
as “autonomist Marxism”) with which it can nevertheless be productively
approached. First, a “Copernican inversion” of “orthodox”—specifically,
“dialectical materialist”—Marxism, focusing on the primacy of labour
struggles in driving capitalist development. Second, an attention to
“class composition” and the shifts in the political expression of labour
movements as the technical make-up of labour changes. Third, accounting
for these shifts through an analysis of “cycles of struggle.” And
finally, approaching the (wicked) problem of organization in terms of an
effort to increase labour’s “autonomy” from capital.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Journal of Labor and Society |
| Volume | 20 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| Pages (from-to) | 307-324 |
| Number of pages | 18 |
| ISSN | 2471-4607 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 11.12.2017 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Immanuel Ness and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.