Self-determination cannot precede the abolition of exploitation

Evidence

But even under these abstract assumptions, the brute limits of self-determination must be acknowledged. The initial revolution which, by abolishing mental and material exploitation, is to establish the prerequisites for the new development, is hardly conceivable as spontaneous action. Moreover, indigenous progress would presuppose a change in the policy of the two great industrial power blocs which today shape the world—abandonment of neo-colonialism in all its forms. At present, there is no indication of such a change. — Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man, 227

Categorization

• QUESTION: Marcuse concedes the paradox here: revolution can’t be spontaneous but cannot be administered either — where does that leave a theory of change?
• XREF: connects to: Freedom chooses its being but cannot choose not to be — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness: An Essay on…, 1146; Alternatives failing to address structures of domination cannot achieve abolition — Davis, Angela Y, Are Prisons Obsolete, 286; Overcoming capitalism alone would not prevent new forms of domination — Dirk Braunstein, Adorno’s Critique of Political Economy, 1568 (+7 more)

Broader Connections

• Freedom becomes possible only once necessary labour is minimized #expands (0.85) — Dirk Braunstein, Adorno’s Critique of Political Economy, 1349
• Alternatives failing to address structures of domination cannot achieve abolition #corroborates (0.80) — Davis, Angela Y, Are Prisons Obsolete, 286
• Overcoming capitalism alone would not prevent new forms of domination #qualifies (0.78) — Dirk Braunstein, Adorno’s Critique of Political Economy, 1568
• Freedom chooses its being but cannot choose not to be #expands (0.75) — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness, 1146