The End of Philosophy

This chapter aims to introduce the problematic of the end of philosophy in Marx and argue for its central place in the historical development of debates around the relation of philosophy to Marxism. Surveying the motif as it appears across the writings of Marx and Engels, the chapter will clarify the distinct formulations that make up the textual sources of this problem. It will then trace the waning of this problem during the Second International and locate its re-instantiation in the interwar years as a challenge to the so-called Marxist orthodoxy. It will then follow the displacement of this interwar formulation into French debates of the Cold War period, focusing specifically on Henri Lefebvre’s role in re-surfacing the motif to challenge Stalinist dogmatism in the French Communist Party. The chapter will conclude by linking this longer pre-history to Louis Althusser’s effort to respond to the end of philosophy injunction in Marx during the mid-sixties and track the influence that this legacy has had upon contemporary debates around Marxism and philosophy.