Marxism as Science: Historical Challenges and Theoretical Growth

Abstract

This paper examines Marxism's claim to be a science. The first part considers possible models of science and argues that the most coherent is Imre Lakatos's methodology of scientiBc research programs. In his conception scientific knowledge grows on the basis of a hard core ofpostulates which are protectedfrom refutation by the development of a series of auxiliary theories. Such a research program is progressive rather than degenerating if successive theories are consistent with the core, explain anomalies and make predictions, some of which are realized. In the second part I argue that with some qualijications the history of Marxism-from Marx and Engels, to German Marxism, to Russian Marxism, and finally to Western Marxism-conforms to the model of aprogressive research program. In the thirdpart Iclaim that deviations from the model, such as Soviet Marxism, are due to the breakdown of the reciprocal interaction between Marxism's heuristics and historical challenges. Classical sociology consistently belittled Marxist science have rarely been carefully expli- Marxism's claim to science (Hughes 1958, cated, let alone subjected to empirical exarnina-Chapter 3). Weber, Durkheim, Pareto, and more tion. That is the task of this essay. This task re-recently, Parsons assailed Marxism for substitut- quires, however, that we first turn to philosophy ing moral passion and Hegelian metaphysics for to clarify the possible meanings of science. scientific reason, for not treating evidence seri-