John Molyneux

In May 2011 thousands of students and workers occupied squares in city centres across Spain, inspired by the Egyptian Revolution. There followed occupations in Athens and protests around Europe.They were one example of a resurgence in movements influenced by anarchist or autonomist ideas. Molyneux welcomes these movements but argues that anarchist ideas contain fundamental weaknesses. Anarchists and Marxists may share the same goal of an equal, classless society, but the crucial question any activist must answer is how do we get to that world from this?

A Marxist Criticism

Anarchism

The Future Socialist Society

An Introduction to Marxist Philosphy

Point Is to Change It

To the question of &lquo;what is art?&rquo;, it is often simply responded that art is whatever is produced by the artist. For John Molyneux, this clearly circular answer is deeply unsatisfying. In a tour de force spanning renaissance Italy and the Dutch Republic to contemporary leading figures, The Dialectics of Art instead approaches its subject matter as a distinct field of creative human labour that emerges alongside and in opposition to the alienation and commodification brought about by capitalism. The pieces and individuals Molyneux examines — from Michelangelo’s Slaves to Rembrandts Jewish Bride to the vast drip paintings of Jackson Pollock – are presented as embodying the social contradictions of their times, giving art an inherently political relevance. In its relationship of creative and dialectical tension to prevailing social relationships and norms, such art points beyond the existing order of things, hinting at a potential future society not based on alienated labour in which creative production becomes the property and practice of all.

The Dialectics of Art

What Is the Real Marxist Tradition?

Why do TV companies produce The Apprentice and Dragon's Den, but not How to be a Union Rep? Why does every news outlet assume that when the stock markets go up it's good for everyone? Why does almost everyone on Eastenders own a small business? Is it true that the media are only giving people what they want? John Molyneux argues that all mainstream media outlets are biased - they are pro-capitalist. He also points out that as almost all mass media companies are owned or controlled by either capitalist companies or their states, it cannot be otherwise.

John Molyneux

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