Tornare a Lukács? : Nuovi materialismi, eco-marxismo e tardo capitalismo

Social theory debates over the ecological crisis have long hinged on the realism/constructivism dichotomy. More recently a different divide has taken hold, mostly in connection with the rise of new materialisms: that between dualism and anti-dualism. A new season has also opened in the traditional materialist standpoint in social theory, namely Marxism. Here the dualism/anti-dualism dichotomy dovetails with the question of the dialectic between society and nature. Against this backdrop, the question the paper addresses is: what ontology does an effective critique of late capitalism’s take on nature need? To answer, the salient features of new materialisms are considered first. Their convergence with what may be called capitalism’s own ontological turn is highlighted. Subsequently eco-Marxist debates are addressed, where Lukács’s view of the dialectic of nature has been gaining salience. The paper dwells especially on a contribution by Kohei Saito. Though innovative, it is argued, it does not adequately capture the terms of late capitalism’s assault on nature, just like most eco-Marxist approaches. Adorno’s theory provides a promising approach in this regard, also offering a ground for confrontation between new materialisms and Marxist materialism and a way to effectively address unresolved Marxist diatribes.