Nature builds no machines, no locomotives, railways, electric telegraphs, self-acting mules etc. These are products of human industry; natural material transformed into organs of the human will over nature, or of human participation in nature. They are organs of the human brain, created by the human hand; the power of knowledge, objectified. The development of fixed capital indicates to what degree general social knowledge has become a direct force of production, and to what degree, hence, the conditions of the process of social life itself have come under the control of the general intellect and been transformed in accordance with it; to what degree the powers of social production have been produced, not only in the form of knowledge, but also as immediate organs of social practice, of the real life process.
According to Marx, the development of the general intellect manifests in a capitalist society, in the control of the social life process. In other words, with the idea of the general intellect, Marx designates a radical change of the subsumption of labour to capital and indicates a third stage of the division of labour.[3] The concept has several interpretations. For instance, Paolo Virno maintained that "general intellect" does not only thrive in communism, as Marx originally thought, since it also characterized other economic systems such as the late capitalism.[4] Here, it is suggested that Marx underestimated the extent to which the general intellect would develop within capitalism, particularly in the modern period where the concept is said to have been realised but with no revolutionary or even conflictual repercussions.[5]
Etymologyedit
According to Matteo Pasquinelli, Marx took the expression 'general intellect' from William Thompson's book An Inquiry Into the Principles of the Distribution of Wealth (1824) which is probably the first book ever written on mental labour. According to Pasquinelli the concept disappears in the transition between the Grundrisse and Capital as it is replaced by the notion of collective worker or Gesamtarbeiter. [6]
^Paolo Virno, ‘Citazioni di fronte al pericolo’, Luogo comune, n. 1 (November 1990), Rome; translated by Cesare Casarino as ‘Notes on the general intellect’, in: Marxism beyond Marxism, eds. Saree Makdisi et al. (New York: Routledge, 1996), 265–272.
^The Grundrisse. Notebook VII. Fixed capital and circulating capital as two particular kinds of capital. Fixed capital and continuity of the production process. – Machinery and living labour. (Business of inventing)
^Carlo Vercellone. From Formal Subsumption to General Intellect: Elements for a Marxist Reading of the Thesis of Cognitive Capitalism. Historical Materialism 15 (2007) 13–36
^Bellofiore, Riccardo; Starosta, Guido; Thomas, Peter (2013). In Marx's Laboratory: Critical Interpretations of the Grundrisse. Leiden: BRILL. p. 9. ISBN9789004236769.
^Choat, Simon (2016). Marx's 'Grundrisse': A Reader's Guide. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 184. ISBN9781472531902.
^Pasquinelli, Matteo (11 December 2019). "On the Origins of Marx's General Intellect". Radical Philosophy. 2 (6).
External linksedit
Paolo Virno, "General Intellect" in Lessico Postfordista, Milano: Feltrinelli, 2001.
Matteo Pasquinelli, "Italian Operaismo and the Information Machine", Theory, Culture & Society, first published on February 2, 2014.
Matteo Pasquinelli, "On the Origins of Marx's General Intellect". Radical Philosophy, 2.06, winter 2019.
general, intellect, confused, with, general, intelligence, factor, according, karl, marx, grundrisse, became, crucial, force, production, combination, technological, expertise, social, intellect, general, social, knowledge, increasing, importance, machinery, s. Not to be confused with General intelligence g factor General intellect according to Karl Marx in his Grundrisse became a crucial force of production It is a combination of technological expertise and social intellect or general social knowledge increasing importance of machinery in social organization The general intellect passage in the Fragment on machines section of Grundrisse says that while the development of machinery led to the oppression of workers under capitalism it also offers a prospect for future liberation 1 Contents 1 Overview 2 Etymology 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksOverview editNature builds no machines no locomotives railways electric telegraphs self acting mules etc These are products of human industry natural material transformed into organs of the human will over nature or of human participation in nature They are organs of the human brain created by the human hand the power of knowledge objectified The development of fixed capital indicates to what degree general social knowledge has become a direct force of production and to what degree hence the conditions of the process of social life itself have come under the control of the general intellect and been transformed in accordance with it to what degree the powers of social production have been produced not only in the form of knowledge but also as immediate organs of social practice of the real life process Karl Marx The Grundrisse 1858 2 According to Marx the development of the general intellect manifests in a capitalist society in the control of the social life process In other words with the idea of the general intellect Marx designates a radical change of the subsumption of labour to capital and indicates a third stage of the division of labour 3 The concept has several interpretations For instance Paolo Virno maintained that general intellect does not only thrive in communism as Marx originally thought since it also characterized other economic systems such as the late capitalism 4 Here it is suggested that Marx underestimated the extent to which the general intellect would develop within capitalism particularly in the modern period where the concept is said to have been realised but with no revolutionary or even conflictual repercussions 5 Etymology editAccording to Matteo Pasquinelli Marx took the expression general intellect from William Thompson s book An Inquiry Into the Principles of the Distribution of Wealth 1824 which is probably the first book ever written on mental labour According to Pasquinelli the concept disappears in the transition between the Grundrisse and Capital as it is replaced by the notion of collective worker or Gesamtarbeiter 6 See also editCognitive cultural economyReferences edit Paolo Virno Citazioni di fronte al pericolo Luogo comune n 1 November 1990 Rome translated by Cesare Casarino as Notes on the general intellect in Marxism beyond Marxism eds Saree Makdisi et al New York Routledge 1996 265 272 The Grundrisse Notebook VII Fixed capital and circulating capital as two particular kinds of capital Fixed capital and continuity of the production process Machinery and living labour Business of inventing Carlo Vercellone From Formal Subsumption to General Intellect Elements for a Marxist Reading of the Thesis of Cognitive Capitalism Historical Materialism 15 2007 13 36 Bellofiore Riccardo Starosta Guido Thomas Peter 2013 In Marx s Laboratory Critical Interpretations of the Grundrisse Leiden BRILL p 9 ISBN 9789004236769 Choat Simon 2016 Marx s Grundrisse A Reader s Guide London Bloomsbury Publishing p 184 ISBN 9781472531902 Pasquinelli Matteo 11 December 2019 On the Origins of Marx s General Intellect Radical Philosophy 2 6 External links editPaolo Virno General Intellect in Lessico Postfordista Milano Feltrinelli 2001 Matteo Pasquinelli Italian Operaismo and the Information Machine Theory Culture amp Society first published on February 2 2014 Matteo Pasquinelli On the Origins of Marx s General Intellect Radical Philosophy 2 06 winter 2019 Tony Smith The General Intellect in the Grundrisse and beyond nbsp This article about political philosophy or theory is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title General intellect amp oldid 1189190353, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
