Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Actionism and Marxism

'Actionism' can be defined as valuing Action for its own sake, with Action conceived as a continual process.  It is thus opposed to any Consequentialism, which privileges the final moment of that process, or any effects of that final moment, e. g. a product, or the enjoyment of a product. Actionism thus conceives food and rest as a preceding, not subsequent to, Action, thereby inverting a standard concept of behavior as a means to satisfying desire, whether vital or otherwise.  Thus, an exemplary Actionist, for whom performance is for its own sake, is a Musician.  Likewise, the athlete who enjoys playing regardless of outcome is an Actionist, while one for whom winning is all that matters is not.  Now, Profit-seeking is not Actionist, but it is unclear whether or not Marxism is.  For, insofar as it locates the source of Value of a product in the Labor that produces it, it is Actionist, but insofar as it aims for the liberation from Labor, to free the worker for leisure, it is not, perhaps because in the latter case, Marx does not distinguish drudgery from skilled work.  Hence, it is unclear whether or not his 'From each according to ones ability' is an Actionist principle, i. e. whether or not it is doubly opposed to Capitalist Profit-seeking behavior--as both Collectivist and Actionist.

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