How Is Cultural Materialism Possible

Cultural issues are one of the most concerned issues of British Marxist intellectuals after World War Ⅱ.The cultural theory constructed by the first generation of British New Left thinkers such as Edward Thompson and Raymond Williams has had a far-reaching impact on future generations.Based on Thompson’s long article the long revolution,this paper analyzes Thompson’s criticism of Williams’ thought of cultural materialism,and then discusses the mature form of cultural materialism and the research principles it should adopt.The first chapter explains the background of cultural materialism.As an ideological trend,cultural materialism originated in the theoretical environment of the cultural turn of Western Marxism.It not only has the universal problem consciousness of rethinking economic determinism in order to restore people’s subjectivity,but also has a unique characteristic of British cultural research that attaches importance to the positive significance of mass culture.In addition,the British Marxist tradition,the Communist Party historian group and the British new left movement also had a profound impact on this turn.These analyses strive to show the two-way negation of Western capitalist society and Stalinism faced by the British left on the whole,so as to show the inevitability of the emergence of British cultural Marxism.The second chapter is the introduction of the early theoretical form of cultural materialism.This chapter explains the theoretical orientation of cultural materialism.It is neither cultural materialism nor cultural Marxism.At the same time,it is significantly different from the materialist cultural view of the Soviet Union.It is a cultural discussion from the perspective of historical materialism,which aims to emphasize the dynamic role of culture in the social material process.This chapter also introduces Williams’ early thought of cultural materialism,and combs its theoretical connotation,logic and significance.The third chapter discusses Thompson’s systematic criticism of Williams’ cultural materialism.It is manifested in criticizing his deviation from the socialist research tradition,excessive emphasis on social integrity,neglect of contradictions in culture,and non historical materialist understanding of human cultural creativity.On this basis,Thompson transformed the cultural concept of cultural materialism and led cultural materialism to reflect on social contradictions and class struggle.The fourth chapter analyzes Thompson’s influence on the ideological trend of cultural materialism.Thompson’s criticism aroused Williams’ attention to social contradictions to a certain extent.He made many later scholars pay full attention to the class and struggle dimensions of cultural problems.Based on this,this chapter also discusses the theoretical significance and limitations of cultural materialism.