Gerald Cohen

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Western Philosophy
20th-century philosophy,
Name: G. A. Cohen
Birth: 1941
School/tradition: Marxism, Analytic Philosophy, liberal egalitarianism
Main interests: Political philosophy, Ethics, Philosophy of history, social theory
Influences: Karl Marx
Influenced: Jon Elster, John Roemer, Will Kymlicka, Michael Otsuka, Leslie Jacobs

Gerald Allan "Jerry" Cohen, (born 1941) is the Chichele Professor of Social and Political Theory, All Souls College, Oxford. Born into a Jewish family in Montreal, Cohen was educated at McGill University, Canada (BA, philosophy and political science) and the University of Oxford (BPhil, philosophy) where he studied under Isaiah Berlin and Gilbert Ryle.

Cohen was formerly assistant lecturer (1963-1964), lecturer (1964-1979) then reader (1979-1984) in the Department of Philosophy at University College London, before being appointed to the Chichele chair at Oxford in 1985. Several of his former students, such as Jonathan Wolff, Michael Otsuka, Will Kymlicka, and Seana Shiffrin, have gone on to be important political philosophers in their own right.

Known as a proponent of Analytical Marxism and a member of the September Group, Cohen's 1978 work Karl Marx's Theory of History: A Defence defends an old-fashioned interpretation of Marx's historical materialism often referred to as 'economic determinism' or 'technological determinism' by its critics. In Self-Ownership, Freedom, and Equality, Cohen attempts to make a moral argument in favour of socialism, contrasting his views with those of John Rawls and Robert Nozick and making an extensive critque of the Lockean principle of self-ownership as well as the use of that principle to defend normative libertarianism. In If You're an Egalitarian, How Come You're So Rich? Cohen addresses the question of what egalitarian political principles imply for the personal behavior of those who subscribe to them.

Cohen is still active and is currently working on a book that deepens his critique of both the substance and methodology of the political theory of John Rawls.

Contents

[edit] Karl Marx's Theory of History: A Defence

Cohen's 1978 work is a radical reinterpretation of the Marxist doctrine of historical materialism. He uses the techniques of modern analytic philosophy to construct Marx’s theory of history in a language familiar to liberal and “bourgeois” social theory. The book is sometimes considered to be the first in a school of thought that explores and attempts to reconstruct Marxism using the tools of Anglo-American analytical philosophy and social science, which later came to be known as "Analytical Marxism".

Cohen’s theory was very orthodox in conclusions but its language, premises and method were contrarian. It uses the tools of methodological individualism and human rationality well known in contemporary social science, as well as logical and linguistic analysis used in contemporary philosophy.

Analytical Marixism is sometimes called "Rational Choice Marxism". According to some, RCM means that all economical and political action and theories should be explained by the action of not just any individuals but by the actions of a certain well known 'individual': the utility maximising self-interested homo economicus, which is capable for collective action only as a “second-best solution”. It is arguably impossible to reconstruct Marxism in this way.

In reality, the approach used by the group of scholars who are known as Anlaytical Marxists draws only in part on neoclassical models. What truly distinguishes Analytical Marxism from many past 'Marxisms' is its rejection of the 'dialectical' or 'holistic' methodology. That is, 'Analytical Marxists' do not believe that classes or any other entities should be seen as acting in a way that is not a result of the actions of the individuals that make up that entity. Analytical Marxists, generally speaking, do not agree with the rational man/homo economicus premise of neo-classical economics (although they sometimes use this premise as a tool, not a description of a reality) but do otherwise tend to agree with mainstream methodology. Failure to distinguish between the method, and the theory of human nature that is often posited by people who use this technique will lead to mass confusion.

AM and RCM challenge bourgeois theory on its own terms. Human rationality is potentially very good starting point for criticizing capitalism, but not the only one. Like many 'analytical Marxists', Cohen has turned his attention towards the concept of justice in his more recent works.

[edit] If You're an Egalitarian, How Come You're So Rich?

Cohen asks, in his book of the same name, If you're an egalitarian how come you're so rich?? The role of morality in traditional Marxism is debatable. However, using the tools of contemporary analysis above has lead Cohen (and other "Analytical Marxists") towards liberal egalitarianism. In this book, Cohen argues that while liberal egalitarianism might express the correct principles of justice, it arbitrarily and inconsistently limits the scope of those principles. Not only do those principles apply to the rules that define the structure of society (i.e. laws), they also apply to personal behavior. Put differently, liberals such as Rawls have traditionally implicitly or explicitly accepted that inequality generating (i.e. those not required to compensate for extra burdens e.g. extra stress) incentives are just if they are necessary to benefit those who are less fortunate. Cohen argues that these kind of inequalities would not be necessary if people were truly committed to the principles of egalitarianism. The 'talented' should be willing to exercise their talents without extra and unequal rewards. People have to make moral choices in their daily lives. He gives an example how in the 1970’s someone asked, in an interview with a very rich Labour party member, why he just would not give the Labour party enough money to wipe out its debts? The question was not even taken seriously.

Cohen argues in other sections of this book that it is, and has been, unwise for Marxists to avoid normative political philosophy. Socialists are no longer justified in believing that socialism is inevitable, and should focus on trying to argue that it is desirable and/or required by justice.

[edit] Freedom

In "History, Labour, and Freedom", Cohen studies the problem of freedom in capitalist society. He comes to a conclusion that although the proletariat is individually free to leave working class, they are not so collectively. “I want to rise with my class, not above my class!”, is his slogan for working class. In a different but related argument against the somewhat common but fallacious equation of capitalism with unrestricted freedom, Cohen demonstrates that the 'free' market restrains the liberty of some in order to create liberties for others. The reason for this is that private ownership of a commodity presupposes non-ownership of that thing by everyone else. If I own something I am free to use that thing, while others are deprived of the freedom to use that thing. If 'my' yard was owned in common in some way (e.g. it was a park) then you could use it as a place to rest or gather. But as things stand right now if you tried to rest on my private property, you would be breaking the law, and I could call the police and have you removed.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] Books by Cohen

  • Karl Marx's Theory of History: A Defense (1978, 2000)
  • History, Labour, and Freedom (1988)
  • Self-Ownership, Freedom, and Equality (1995)
  • If You're an Egalitarian, How Come You're So Rich? (2000)

[edit] Books about Cohen

  • The Egalitarian Conscience: Essays in Honour of G. A. Cohen (2006); edited by Christine Sypnowich
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