The Socio-Anthropological Essence of the Inter-Formational Transition to a Postcapitalist Society in the Marxist Research Program

Introduction. The article analyzes the socio-anthropological mechanisms of interformational transition from capitalism to postcapitalism, designed to make this transition less painful for society. Methodology and sources. The socio-anthropological content of the current inter-formational transition was first conceptualized by K. Marx and F. Engels. Further study of this content by many Marxists, neo-Marxists and post-Marxists is, to a greater or lesser extent, based on the research program laid down by the classics of Marxism. The Marxist strategy of the development of productive forces emphasizes its substantive source – real human individuals. Analyzing the process of inter-formational transition, it is impossible to abstract from the development of the personality. The overcoming of capitalism is led by the all-round development of individuals, realized through everyday practices that lead to the “realm of freedom”. Results and discussion. The main, system-forming source of increasing complexity of the productive forces (and above all of the human being oneself) is the development of such everyday practice as labor. K. Marx describes the overcoming of the division of labor, which takes place in universal labor. The rejection of the reproduction of capitalist relations of production in the process of the maturation of universal labor is of fundamental importance in the light of the theory of capital accumulation put forward by R. Luxemburg. According to this theory, the survival of capitalism depends on how successful the process of commodification of those areas of human activity, that were not originally covered by commodity-money, market relations. The dialectical law of the negation of the negation: the non-commodified subsistence economy is negated by commodified forms of the economy, which, in turn, is negated by the non-commodified post-capitalist economy, based on universal labor. Conclusion. Postcapitalism in its developed form is the complete absence of commodification. The exemplary postcapitalist labor product is free, needed by a strictly defined audience, and cannot be sold to the general public in the marketplace. If all products of social production become like this, then the inter-formational transition, painful for society, will reach a constructive conclusion.

Authors: Yuri V. Loskutov

Direction: Philosophy

Keywords: capitalism, postcapitalism, universal labor, commodification, person

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