Wright retained Marxism as method while rejecting it as ideology

Evidence

In his criticisms of Marxism, then, Wright was not entirely rejecting it but was attempting to locate it, to provide a sense of the boundaries of its authority. As a theory of society, he found it dissatisfying, indeed, reductionist. By itself it was insufficiently prescient of the several levels of collective consciousness. As an ideology, he recognized that it had never transcended its origins. It remained an ideology for the working classes rather than an ideology of the working classes. However, as a method of social analysis he found it compelling. He had not abandoned the conception of the relations of production as a basis for the critique of capitalist society nor the importance of the class relations of production. Still, the critique of capitalism was only the beginning of the struggle for liberation. — Cedric J. Robinson, Black Marxism_ The Making of the Black…, 1421

Categorization

• DEFINE: Distinguishes Marxism’s three separable aspects - theory, ideology, method - and where Wright located each.
• XREF: Parallels earlier chapter framings on how Black intellectuals selectively engaged Marxism. — connects to: Critical Theory adopted Marxism’s substance while rejecting its orthodox economic-base form. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 18; Grünberg defined Marxism as a scientific methodology, rejecting both party politics and metaphysics — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 94; For social democrats, Marxism was ideology, not practical program. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 104 (+1 more)
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Cedric J. Robinson, Black Marxism_ The Making of the Black…, 1421