The moral legacy of marxism

Abstract

Marx would not have anything much to contribute to contemporary discussions of 'normativity', because he would reject various of the assumptions on which they rest. Thus, he does not believe it possible to isolate 'moral normativity' as a distinct object of decontextualised study so as to derive from it rationally grounded imperative to individual action. This does not mean that Marx can provide no orientation for human action, but this has a different nature and structure. Marx suspicions of ethical theories are well founded, but his own productivist assumptions should be revisited.