Category Archives: Karl Marx

Spectacle and the Production of Space

Posted on April 19, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

The Society of the Spectacle helps me pick up where I left off with my recent comments about the centrality of “fetishism” and “critique” in Henri Lefebvre’s work. Put simply, Guy Debord’s “spectacle” is Marx’s notion of fetishism writ large. … Continue reading →

Posted in City, Critique, Dialectics, Guy Debord, Henri Lefebvre, Karl Marx, Power, Spatiality, Spectacle | Comments Off on Spectacle and the Production of Space

Lefebvre, Fetish, Critique

Posted on April 19, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

I’d argue that the most important thread running through Henri Lefebvre’s entire work is the notion of fetishism. Almost everything that he worked on can be traced back to Marx’s ideas about the “commodity fetish.” When paired with the concept … Continue reading →

Posted in City, Critique, Everyday Life, Guy Debord, Henri Lefebvre, Karl Marx, Spatiality | 3 Comments

The Production of Space

Posted on February 19, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

After having just finished Capital (Vol. I), Henri Lefebvre’s The Production of Space makes so much more sense than the first time a read it. (Though hugely insightful, it’s still a total slog to read.) The reasons behind my understanding … Continue reading →

Posted in Dialectics, Hegemony, Henri Lefebvre, Karl Marx, Marxism, Political Economy, Power, Spatiality, The State | 5 Comments

The German Ideology

Posted on February 12, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Some thoughts on the German Ideology and Marx’s “Method.” What most struck me about The German Ideology and the comments regarding On the Jewish Question is how much Marx’s interest in political economy was at least partly provoked by questions … Continue reading →

Posted in Karl Marx, Political Economy, The State | 4 Comments

Notes on “The German Ideology”

Posted on February 11, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Marx is moving away from questions of rights and philosophy to the study of political economy and capitalism. The book has both a political and a philosophical dimension. First, Marx and Engels are railing against German Idealism’s view that consciousness … Continue reading →

Posted in Historical Materialism, Karl Marx, Marxism, Political Economy, The State | 1 Comment

Notes “On the Jewish Question”

Posted on February 9, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

We produce a religiosity in the state because of the divide between our position as individuals and community, civil society and politics, everyday reality and the otherworldliness of institutions that govern us. We bring religious consciousness to our existence, and … Continue reading →

Posted in GWF Hegel, Historical Materialism, Karl Marx, Marxism, Political Economy, The State | Comments Off on Notes “On the Jewish Question”