Play, Sublimation, Labor

Two weaknesses in Marcuse's proposal that Primary Narcissism can be the fundamental Psychic stratum of a Marxist society are: 1. It is not inherently Practical, as has been previously discussed, and 2. Like many of Freud's concepts, it is completely speculative, lacking in evidence, e. g. that a young child indeed has such an early experience.  In contrast, Play is Practical, and is plainly an early childood experience.  Now, on that basis, some important Marxist structures can be developed.  For example, following Freud by conceiving Sublimation as the channeling of primitive energy to socially useful ends, Labor can be conceived as the Sublimation of Play.  Furthermore, as is implicit in the image 'fruits of one's labor', the possibility of the deferral of gratification is not necessarily extrinsic to Labor, e. g. the delay between agricultural sowing and reaping.  But, deferral is not to be confused with substitution, e. g. the payment of a wage to a worker by the owner of the means of production.  Thus, on this analysis, the repressive impact of alienation on Labor is not in either its sublimation or its deferral, as Marcuse seems to suggest, but primarily in the substitution of its gratification.  Now, he does briefly acknowledge the existence of a "play impulse", but without the recognition that Labor is a sublimation of Play, the integration of such an impulse, which can only be part of the Freudian Id, into a traditional Marxist framework is difficult.