The Debates in Marx’s Scholarship on Dimensions of Human nature: An Appraisal

Abstract

Debates in Marx scholarship revolve around whether Karl Marx recognizes the individual and social dimensions of human nature and which of the two he prefers. This paper considers the debates in two ways. The first relates to Marx scholarship in favour of the individual dimension of human nature. The second concerns Marx scholarship in favour of the social dimension of human nature. In respect of the first way, the paper discusses the view of Adam Schaff on Marxist Humanism. Within the context of social dimension, the paper explains the views of Louis Althusser on Structuralist Marxism and Georg Lukacs and Karl Korsch on Council Communism. It then compares and contrasts the two opposing positions in Marx scholarship on the dimensions of human nature. The paper has four parts starting with the introductory part. The second part deals with an exposition of the debates in Marx scholarship on the dimensions of human nature. The third part presents a comparative analysis of the debates. The fourth part covers conclusion. We submit that the attention given to the individual and social dimensions of human nature should be balanced. (185 words)

Keywords: Marx, Scholarship, Dimensions, Human Nature.