Learning that a Japanese Marxist author / researcher was publishing best sellers after best-sellers, in Japan, with books on degrowth, more than piqued my curiosity. So I bought his books. Thrice. Once in Japanese, before any translation. Once in English under the directly translated title “Marx in the Anthropocene”. And once more under the title “Slow down”, convinced it was actually a follow-up.

What is it about ?

Kohei Saito is a Marxist researcher work with the MEGA project (Marx-Engels-Gesamtausgabe) which tries to collect all Marx and Engels writing and analyse their thought processes and how their philosophy evolved.

And Saito focuses on environmental issues and how Marx’s position evolved from productivism in the Communist Manifesto to a more degrowth-related approach at the end of his life. This books goes through Saito’s finding, explaining the different theories and point of view, both at the time of Marx as well as what later philosophes or essayists built upon his works.

Yes but

I couldn’t finish it.

Part of my issue with the book is how most of the points presented seem to be extremely basic. I don’t mean “as a guy reading marxist or anarchist stuff”-basic. Just full plain basic. But that’s a me-problem and I can understand the appeal as a first contact with Marxist lore.

My main issue though is the whole religious aftertaste. The 80% or so of the book I have read have very strong “Marx is our prophet, his writing are opaque, let me interpret them for you”. No additional work seems to be tolerated. No work building on Marx’s work or other branches of materialist theory seems to exist, except to be destroyed by Saito.

And to be frank, as much as I like my Proudon or Kropotkine, I am tired of this veneration of late 19th century authors. The times have changed, their theory have evolved and included other points of view, have been expanded, even on degrowth.

Final word

I don’t know. I feel bad bitching on one of the few Japanese contemporary authors openly writing on materialist topics. But this book (these 3 books) are a big no for me.