The Original Theoretical Context of “Back to Marx”

Abstract

The continuous vitality of Marxist philosophy consists in its constantly historical combination with the theoretical horizon of every “present now”. One necessary condition of this hermeneutic approach is to trace to the original in order to start something new. “Back to Marx”, as a foundational study of redefining the theoretical boundaries of Marxist philosophy under the new contemporary theoretical conditions, is a historical task raised up for the young generation of Chinese Marxist theoreticians. Its theoretical value rests on its denial of the rationality of Stalin’s traditional text-book system of philosophy and its avatars, and also on its creation of a new start-point for theoretical creation of Marxist philosophy. This article elaborates mainly on the relation of “Back to Marx” and its theoretical creativity, the original method of philosophical textual criticism in this theoretical project, the transformations of philosophical discourse within Marx’s economic context, and the original meaning field where a “Historical Phenomenology” was formed.