A REASSESSMENT OF MARX'S THEORY AS A POLITICAL THEORY AND A THEORY OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION

I present an assessment of Marx's theory based on a new understanding of the foundations of social science, consisting of two dichotomies. Based on these dichotomies, Marx's theory implicitly assumed alternatives to those of the dominant economic theory of capitalism. However, his theory did not fully conform to these choices. Furthermore, I interpret Marx's theory through Galtung's recent theory of conflict resolution. At the time, Marx's theory represented a major intellectual advance; its enormous relevance in the history of peoples over the last two centuries is also justified by this fact; however, it was ambiguous regarding the type of conflict resolution, whether violent or non-violent. Its ambiguities explain the historical regression of the Marxist movement and the societies subsequently constructed according to its theory. However, I demonstrate that both Marx's theory and the Marxist movement paved the way, for better or worse, for a new, pluralist history of humanity.