This question <1656|1678> overall <1676|1678> PAE: <1664|1858>.

Question 601: Whenever Marx contemplates both social and individual points of view, he acts as if the social point of view was the true point of view. Is this justified?

[1677] PAE: response to BBQ.   I agree with BBQ [1619] and others in saying that Marx does contemplate both individual and social points of view and leans towards social points of view out of necessity. However I think his initial reasoning behind this is the social climate at the time. I think Marx realizes that the collective workingman or industrialist is basically a powder keg ready to blow, and society's capitalistic views needed to be re-evaluated at the time. Marx does use a historical context in explaining his points but I believe his writings are to serve as a warning for future generations of what is possible and what can happen to capitalist, working man, market, and many other economic factors.

So while I do agree with BBQ in some ways I think you missed the point of looking at Marx's writings as not just in historical context but also a commentary on the social climate facing him in addition to an outlook of the future. That is why I think he uses a social point of view, he would not be able to asses or predict future conditions using an individual point of view.

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