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Endnotes 5: The Passions and the Interests
- GenresPoliticsPhilosophyTheory
424 pages, Paperback
Published October 1, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 5, 2020
Endnotes is one of my favorite political publications, if not my favorite. Since I read the 4th issue a few years ago, I've been fairly mesmerized. In that issue, "A History of Separation" unraveled the unacknowledged assumptions I'd made about class politics and the historical workers' movement. Endnotes forced me to ask new questions and consider new ideas in ways that the more orthodox Marxist theory is incapable of doing. Needless to say, I was excited for this issue.
I think Endnotes is at its best in three areas: (1) when it questions orthodoxy ("A History of Separation," "The Limit Point of Capitalist Equality"), (2) when it analyzes moments of political turmoil ("Brown v. Ferguson," "A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats") and (3) when it engages in political economy ("Misery and Debt," "Notes on the New Housing Question").
Unfortunately, this issue focuses less on my particular interests outlined above. It is focused largely on speculative or "worldbuilding" exercises about a communist future. This is for me one of the more dubious elements of the communisation trend. "Error," "Contours of the World Commune," and "Life Against Nature" exhibit this focus. However, there's plenty of interesting stuff to chew on in those pieces.
My favorite piece by far was "We Unhappy Few," a 98-page exploration of group dynamics in leftist organizations and milieus. This topic is a particular interest of mine, so I was happy to see Endnotes break the fourth wall to ask these tough questions: Endnotes is at its best when it's self-critical. They use psychoanalysis and social psychology to probe questions of group behavior and the role of the ideological militant in struggles, and give a historical overview of how these questions have been answered by their tradition (e.g. the councilists, Situationists, and later communisers).
I also enjoyed Jasper Bernes's piece on revolutionary motives, which engages with the analytic Marxist tradition, and in particular Adam Przeworski, a theorist I've drawn a lot from lately. I didn't find Bernes's conclusion compelling, as his vision of revolution is far too millennarian for my taste, but his piece raises important questions. "To Abolish the Family" is interesting as well, although for me more as a historical overview than a political analysis.
Overall this issue is definitely worth reading if one likes Endnotes, and I think many will find it challenging and provocative even if it gets frustrating at times.
I think Endnotes is at its best in three areas: (1) when it questions orthodoxy ("A History of Separation," "The Limit Point of Capitalist Equality"), (2) when it analyzes moments of political turmoil ("Brown v. Ferguson," "A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats") and (3) when it engages in political economy ("Misery and Debt," "Notes on the New Housing Question").
Unfortunately, this issue focuses less on my particular interests outlined above. It is focused largely on speculative or "worldbuilding" exercises about a communist future. This is for me one of the more dubious elements of the communisation trend. "Error," "Contours of the World Commune," and "Life Against Nature" exhibit this focus. However, there's plenty of interesting stuff to chew on in those pieces.
My favorite piece by far was "We Unhappy Few," a 98-page exploration of group dynamics in leftist organizations and milieus. This topic is a particular interest of mine, so I was happy to see Endnotes break the fourth wall to ask these tough questions: Endnotes is at its best when it's self-critical. They use psychoanalysis and social psychology to probe questions of group behavior and the role of the ideological militant in struggles, and give a historical overview of how these questions have been answered by their tradition (e.g. the councilists, Situationists, and later communisers).
I also enjoyed Jasper Bernes's piece on revolutionary motives, which engages with the analytic Marxist tradition, and in particular Adam Przeworski, a theorist I've drawn a lot from lately. I didn't find Bernes's conclusion compelling, as his vision of revolution is far too millennarian for my taste, but his piece raises important questions. "To Abolish the Family" is interesting as well, although for me more as a historical overview than a political analysis.
Overall this issue is definitely worth reading if one likes Endnotes, and I think many will find it challenging and provocative even if it gets frustrating at times.
August 26, 2022
This volume of Endnotes was really a mixed bag. 'We Unhappy Few' was a great examination of revolutionary organisations, and a (auto)pscyhoanalysis of such groups - indeed, the small collective I am apart of attempted (to admittedly limited success) to do a reading group on the text, and then use that as the basis for a psychoanalytical inquiry into our own group. I very much enjoyed the world-building exercise within 'Contours of the World Commune', and, in contrast some other reviews I've seen, found it a politically useful text. 'To Abolish the Family' I thought was a compelling and helpful historical analysis, however I was sceptical of some of the political conclusions drawn with regard to the question of revolutionary subjectivity. Concerning the other pieces, they didn't leave particularly large impression on me, and thus I will save commenting.
Unlike other issues of Endnotes, I found this edition to not flow particularly well. It seemed to move from one piece to the other without much cohering the issue together, other than a general dedication to ultra-left politics. I felt this was particularly the case with regard to the translations in the middle, whilst still also feeling publishing these translations in some form is politically useful and important work (just perhaps, somewhere other than this issue). This - as well as the density of the issue - was perhaps the biggest reason I took a few months break inbetween starting and returning to this text.
In an overview, I think these pieces are important to read and come back to - but just maybe not in one lump sum; rather I would just read essays as and when they seem useful and/or interesting.
Unlike other issues of Endnotes, I found this edition to not flow particularly well. It seemed to move from one piece to the other without much cohering the issue together, other than a general dedication to ultra-left politics. I felt this was particularly the case with regard to the translations in the middle, whilst still also feeling publishing these translations in some form is politically useful and important work (just perhaps, somewhere other than this issue). This - as well as the density of the issue - was perhaps the biggest reason I took a few months break inbetween starting and returning to this text.
In an overview, I think these pieces are important to read and come back to - but just maybe not in one lump sum; rather I would just read essays as and when they seem useful and/or interesting.
September 12, 2020
A collection of very niche essays on communist philosophy. Some of the essays were very thought-provoking and well-researched, such as the ones about small-group psychology, infrastructure, and the history of the family as a social form; others were completely indecipherable, like the essays by or on Camatte. Overall, a worthwhile collection to look through if you are into graduate-school level Marxism.
May 10, 2020
yeah the chapters are still too long, and a lot of it can at times seem willfully esoteric (reading group psychology? communist technics? game theory? weird marxist mysticism or something?). but really front to back, it rocks. Hope it's not another 5 years till Endnotes 6
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews