Discuss the relevance of Neo-Marxist theories in appraising the function of planning in a capitalist society.
Discuss the relevance of Neo-Marxist theories in appraising the function of planning in a capitalist society.
To be able to fully understand how relevant Neo-Marxist theories are to urban planning, it is important to look first at the background of Marxist thought. Karl Marx developed his economic and political theories after he moved to London in 1849. One of Marx’s key suggestions was that ideologies would perform an important function in modern societies. He believed that this was to maintain the capitalist form, economic production and capitalist society. The view of Marx is that the state in modern societies is a capitalist state due to the fact that its main function is to maintain the capitalist economy in existence. Marx himself never wrote a systematic theory of the state, however many modern theorists have applied their ideas to the twentieth century governance and planning.
Marxist scholars have generally been very critical of traditional planning practice and theory. However, many of their arguments are merely ideological rationalisations that fail to recognise the material conditions and historical and political forces that allowed planning to emerge and define its role in society. As Klosterman points out, the role of planning in contemporary society can be understood only by recognising the structure of modern capitalism as it relates to the physical environment. Another observation Klosterman makes is that Marxists interpret planners’ actions as primarily serving the interests of capital at the expense of the rest of society. This is not a very convincing argument within the discussion of planning in a capitalist society. ‘Serving the interests of capital’ would be more appropriate if it were to be replaced with ‘making the best of limited capital’ and whether or not planners’ activities are at the expense of society is debatable. With increasingly more being done today to include the public in planning decisions, it may be that these Marxist theories may be slightly dated. Klosterman also points out that Marxist arguments must be evaluated and examined critically in the light of present economic and political realities. One of the key criticisms of Marxist thought is that it may be less relevant today in Western Europe as Marxist ideas tend to be more strongly correlated around the world. Isaac Deutscher, an avid Marxist, gave a lecture in 1965 at the London school of Economics, in which he made the following statement, “Marxism and socialism have been the products of Western Europe. They have gone out of Western Europe to conquer the world and they have lost ground in Western Europe. When will they come back?” This question brings a new dimension to the Marxist argument about planning. If Marxism is no longer prevalent in Western Europe, how can planning in Western Europe be effectively evaluated with a Marxist framework?
