Requiem for French Theory: Transatlantic Funeral Dirge in a Marxist Key

Gabriel Rockhill joins Breht to discuss his book Requiem for French Theory, coauthored with Aymeric Monville, and to challenge the radical reputation of thinkers such as Foucault, Derrida, and Deleuze. Situating their rise within the Cold War, Rockhill examines how intelligence agencies, capitalist foundations, universities, and publishers helped elevate intellectual (and broader cultural) currents that appeared radical or revolutionary while undermining the theoretical and political foundations of communism.

Along the way, Breht and Gabriel explore French Theory's rejection of dialectics, its contested relationship to May '68, capitalism's ability to turn rebellion into a consumer product, and the difference between liberal representation and material liberation. They also discuss Western Marxism's retreat from anti-imperialism, the lessons of actually existing socialism, and the necessity of criticism and self-criticism within a living Marxist tradition.

At the heart of the conversation is a practical question: how do we reclaim theory as a collective instrument of working-class liberation rather than another commodity in the capitalist marketplace?

(Caliban by Retamer is attached as a full pdf on the free, public post of this same episode over at our patreon; link below)

Check out Critical Theory Workshop HERE

Follow Rockhill's work on his Substack HERE

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