Post-Marxism first originated in the late 1970s, and several trends and events of that period influenced its development. The weakness of the
Soviet Union and
Eastern Bloc paradigm became evident after the so called "
secret speech" and the following
invasion of Hungary, which split the radical left irreparably. Marxism from then on faced a crisis of credibility, resulting in various developments in Marxist theory, particularly
neo-Marxism, which theorised against much of the Eastern Bloc. This happened concurrently with the occurrence internationally of the
strikes and occupations of 1968, the rise of
Maoist theory, and the proliferation of
commercial television and later information technologies which covered in its broadcasts the
Vietnam War. Post-Marxism, although with its roots in this
New Left and the consequent
post-structural moment in France, has its real genesis in reaction to the hegemony of
neoliberalism, and defeat of the Left in such events as the UK
miners' strike. Ernesto Laclau argued that a Marxism for the neoliberal
conjuncture required a fundamental reworking, to address the failures of both. Subsequently, Laclau and Mouffe address the proliferation of "new subject positions" by locating their analysis on a non-essentialist framework. Simultaneously, revolutionaries in Italy, known as Operaismo, and later
autonomists, began to theorise against the conservative
Italian Communist Party, focusing much more on labour, gender and the later works of Marx. In France, radicals such as
Félix Guattari redefined old
Lacanian models of desire and subjectivity, which had often been tied to the communist project, bringing
Nietzsche into conversation with Marx. In the
Eastern Bloc, the
Budapest School began reinterpreting Marx, building on the work of the
Praxis School before them. In West Germany, theorists
reinterpreted Marx's works entirely from a
Hegelian dialectical perspective. In the UK,
Stuart Hall engaged with post-structuralist theorists while working for
Marxism Today, especially in relation to race and identity.
John Holloway began to forge a new path between
Althusserian structural Marxism and instrumentalist theorists of
monopoly capitalism. In the US,
Michael Hardt collaborated with
Antonio Negri to produce
Empire at the turn of the century, widely recognised as a consolidation and re-affirmation of post-Marxism.
Harry Cleaver produced innovative readings of
Capital, alongside
Moishe Postone who reaffirmed Marx's central concepts. Post-Marxism also has different connotations within
radical feminist theory. The way
Catharine MacKinnon uses the term post-Marxism is not based on post-structuralism. She says "feminism worthy of the name absorbs and moves beyond marxist methodology", meaning that Marxism is not to be left behind but built on. Currently, figures in the US, UK, and Europe continue to produce work in the post-Marxist tradition, particularly
Nancy Fraser,
Alain Badiou, Jeremy Gilbert and
Étienne Balibar. This theory is often very different from that produced by Laclau and Mouffe, and much of the Left has turned against the Post-Marxist turn. Despite being born in Latin America and the Eastern Bloc, post-Marxism is largely produced by theorists of the
Global North, as the following criticisms reveal. Aside from perhaps Spivak, there are no notable theorists of the Global South who are within the post-Marxist tradition, and the radical movements of the Global South largely remain within the 'Old Left' tradition. Several reasons relating to political geography and level of academisation are given as explanations. There is some debate however as to whether
Cedric Robinson was a post-Marxist. Despite this, the
Zapatistas have been a large source of inspiration for many post-Marxists. == Criticism ==