Dva komentáře k neomarxismu Immanuela Wallersteina. Epistemologie a politika

This discussion section presents two commentaries of Wallerstein’s Neomarxist theory. The first one points out the epistemological problems of Wallerstein’s conception and argues that his objectivist epistemology leads him to a revolutionary view of politics. Contrary to Wallerstein, the commentary adopts a more skeptical perspective on the ability of social science to grasp the essence of the “world-out-there”, and relates it to a realist liberal conception of social change. The second commentary criticizes Wallerstein’s belief that we can find a unity in moral judgment, scientific knowledge, and political action. The paper argues that in a certain sense Wallerstein ́s utopistics is another meta-utopia. In order to understand utopistics, we have to understand the context of other meta-utopias. Thus the paper explores the meta-utopias of Engels, Wilde, Masaryk, Sorel, Kropotkin, Lenin, Berneri, and Kalivoda. Like in the case of Karl Marx, in Wallerstein’s case we need to differentiate between the utopian-normative basis of his position and his scientific contribution (both of them are contributive but we should avoid connecting them in an artificial way). We need an open scientific discussion as well as a free discussion and sharing of utopian visions (which are the basis of our political opinions) and not their artificial rationalizations.