Some Theses on Soft Power and real Subsumption
by José Luis Villacañas Berlanga
pp. 18-45 Issue 5 (3,1) – Janyary-June 2016 ISSN (online): 2539/2239 ISSN (print): 2389-8232 DOI: 1017450/160102
Abstract
The essay examines the Marxian issue of real subsumption confuting its centrality as the key of contemporary capitalism. Even if the most farsighted Marxist prognosis about soft power concerns real subsumption, the latter cannot be considered an ontologic device, as shown by the analysis of Marxian texts developed by Antonio Negri. Using the methodological and historical-conceptual contribution of Max Weber thought, the author shows that the current tensions between financial capital, industrial capital, and human capital cannot be theorized in absolute terms and that their operation is not based on a deterministic logic but rather on a reflexive, processual, adaptive logic.