From the Criticism of Alienated Labor to the Cultural Imagination of Anti-labor:Marcuse's Radical Interpretation of Marx's Concept of Labor
Among Western Marxists in the 20th century,Marcuse's interpretation of Marx's theory of alienated la-bor was the most radical.His central argument emphasizes Marx's early Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844 while disparaging his later Capital,ultimately regressing anti-capitalism from a practical movement envisaged by Marx into a form of pure utopian imagination.Marcuse's interpretation of Marx's theory of alienated labor undoubtedly seriously distorts Marx's original intent,but his continuous reflection on Marx's concept of labor is a theoretical effect of Marx's philosophy under contemporary capitalist conditions.In today's relatively quiet domestic philosophical re-search on Marx's theory of alienated labor,responding to and refuting Marcuse's interpretation is necessary,as it will help us uphold the Marxist standpoint and understand Marx's philosophy as a consistent organic whole.