MARLEAU-PONTY’S RECEPTION OF MARXISM

Abstract

Regardless of the fact that within his work, Marleau-Ponty never studies Marx in aconventional manner, it is possible to follow his reception of Marxism throughout certain sets ofproblems, such as his notion of history, understanding of Proletariat as humanistic foundation ofMarxism, and fi nally the sole core of Marleau-Ponty’s formulation of the “communist problem”.Considering the insight in the specifi c universality of the revolutionary process, and the key-pointof polemic between the two Komessars, and fi nally the basic motives of indispensable quality ofhistorical materialism, we shall follow Marleau-Ponty’s discussion on Marxism in his essay onHumanism and Terror. But, moving towards the answer whether we should and how to formulatea certain critical theory, in the aftermath of the wait and see strategy, we shall turn to the laterMarleau-Ponty’s work Adventures of the Dialectics. Severe change of tone of the discussion inthis essay can be illustrated through the Marleau-Ponty’s gesture of rejecting Marx as an up-todatefi gure. Thus, in the atmosphere of Marlau-Ponty’s opus, throughout which the passed trialsof adventures of the dialectics are still lingering on, it seems that that gesture also turns towardsphilosophy itself.