On+the+Jewish+Question

Some Discussion Questions: · What can one deduce from this writing concerning Marx's critique of political liberalism? How does Marx understand __citizenship__ in this piece? · How does Marx conceive the relation between religion and politics and critique this relation? · How effective do you believe his understanding of religious alienation to be? · What are the salient traits of his critique of __formal rights__? Bauer: · Religion is a function of the state · Religion must be separate from the state b/c religion is a form of alienation – god is an inverted form of our own potential · Jews define themselves as a people through their religion – if they wish to integrate into society, they must emancipate themselves from this form of Judaism. · Universality is the neutrality of the state! Whatever our creed or sex, etc. · Therefore have private religion yet be members of the same polis Marx: · Criticizes Bauer – inherited the structure of religion even if got rid of political religion in favor of political emancipation · B/c there is still discrepancy between the universal and the particular – formal rights of equality v. everyday social and economic injustices = problem of liberalism · Therefore, we repeat the problem of alienation · So the Jewish question is how to mend the problems of concrete daily lives with normative ends – where is the accountability? · <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The Jewish question is a question for us all as we enter into modernity <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Marxist critique of Liberalism: granting of new freedoms is really a granting of //un-//freedoms <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Schisms between things (religion and politics/economy and politics) make certain inequalities invisible and leads to certain people rising to the fore · <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The social relation between individuals is not articulated as society · <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">That social relation makes up our humanity · //<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">We are liberal social beings who find our freedom in our interactions //<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> = MARX · <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Human emancipation – from our individual limitations (from liberalism) from the socialized means of production – the abolition of private property · <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Marx is not satisfied with just political emancipation · <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">What rights bestow upon you are certain freedoms… but these freedoms hide //un-//freedoms in daily life/civil society (where govt is kept out)
 * Karl Marx, “On The Jewish Question,” // Deutsch-Französische Jahrbücher // (February 1844). **