The Inheritance of Hardt and Negri to Marx’s Thought: From the Critique of Political Economy to Biopolitical Critique

In the Empire Series,Hardt and Negri attempt to develop biopolitical critique to contemporary capitalist society.Hardt and Negri develop their own biopolitical critique based on their understanding of Foucauldian biopolitics.In the meantime,many arguments of biopolitical critique come precisely from Marx’s critique of political economy.Identifying biopolitical production as the hegemonic paradigm of contemporary capitalist production,Hardt and Negri accomplish the transition from the critique of political economy to biopolitical critique.However,such assertion does not mean a major rupture in the relation between the critique of political economy and biopolitical critique.On the contrary,it only implies an intertwined relationship between them.Moreover,if regarding Foucault’s discussion about political economy and biopolitics as a medium,then the conclusion can be made:There are overlaps between biopolitical critique and the critique of political economy,and the source of biopolitical critique can also be traced directly back to Marx.

An Important Problem in the Holistic Study of Marxist Doctrine ——The Inner Logic and Implications of Marx＇s Philosophical and Economic Revolution

The inner logical connections between Marx＇s philosophical and economic revolutions are a crucial issue in the study of Marx＇s theory in its totality. They unfold in the course of Marx＇s critique of political economy, which goes beyond the domain of political economy, and his critique of philosophy, which goes beyond the domain of philosophy. Specifically, Marx formulated his methodology for political economy in his critique of philosophy and at the same time expanded the achievement of his initial completion of a philosophical revolution in his critique of political economy. Finally, in these two ＂interactive＂ critiques, he basically accomplished his economic revolution and perfected both the substance and form of his philosophical revolution. The inner logic connecting Marx＇s philosophical and economic revolutions offers important implications for research on Marxist philosophy in contemporary China. That is to say, the integrity of the theory of Marx （and Engels）, the founder（s） of Marxism, in fact implies a fundamental methodological requirement for later generations in studying and developing Marxist philosophy, namely, that they should always keep in mind the holistic nature of theory. Therefore, we need to have a cross-disciplinary consciousness which consists of critical awareness, problem awareness and awareness of the times.