Why some theorists believe communism is an action, not a destination
In short: For Gilles Dauvé, communism isn't a future utopia to be built; it is a task to be performed right now. He argues that revolution shouldn't create a transitional state, but must immediately abolish the very structures—like wages, money, and the state—that define our current lives.
Gilles Dauvé is a central figure in the theory of "communization," a concept he has developed since the mid-1970s. Unlike traditional Marxism, which often envisions a transitional period like the dictatorship of the proletariat, communization posits that a revolution is only communist if it immediately transforms all social relations. It is not a goal to be reached but an effort to be undertaken, aiming to break all separations and eliminate the "mediations" of modern life, such as exchange value and class structures.
Dauvé’s philosophy is a complex synthesis of several historical currents. He draws from the German Left’s rejection of trade unions and parliamentarism, the Italian Left’s critique of democracy as a tool of capital, and the Situationist International’s focus on the total transformation of everyday life. He specifically critiques "socialist orthodoxy," arguing that both social democracy and Leninist models remain trapped within capitalist logic. He views the party model as "substitutionist," preferring to emphasize working-class self-organization and the immediate negation of the state.
His work has undergone significant evolution. In the 1980s, he explored the links between fascism and democracy, provocatively suggesting that antifascism can serve to defend liberal democracy rather than challenge capital. However, since the late 1990s, Dauvé has moved away from Marxist determinism and "laws of history." He now advocates for an "invariant-humanist" perspective, which views communization as an immanent possibility in various struggles, rather than a historical inevitability triggered by a specific economic crisis.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Gilles Dauvé
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