Exchange or production? A critical introduction to the theoretical proposal by Alfred Sohn-Rethel

Abstract

This paper explores and analyzes the critique of the modern-traditional epistemology of the philosopher Alfred Sohn-Rethel, focusing on the categories of "social synthesis" and "real abstraction" that the author postulated in his magnum opus Manual Work and Intellectual Work (2001) . Sohn-Rethel's perspective seeks to critically adapt Marx's materialist conception of history to the analysis of the emergence of the fundamental categories of scientific knowledge, as formulated in European modernity. However, the author's emphasis on exchange over production ends up being inconsistent with basic postulates derived from the critique of political economy formulated by Marx in Capital. Thus, from the review of Marx's categories and taking into account the position of other authors, the research emphasizes the limitations derived from the Sohn-Rethel proposal when analyzing the social forms of knowledge.