Reading `Opium of the People': Expression, Protest and the Dialectics of Religion

Marx's phrase `opium of the people' is one of the most frequently quoted lines he ever wrote; perhaps because of that, it has been just as frequently misunderstood. By returning to the various meanings of opium in the mid-19th century, I revisit Marx's analysis, offering a way of read...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Critical sociology 2005-01, Vol.31 (1-2), p.15-38
Main Author: Mckinnon, Andrew M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Capitalism
Marxism
Marxist Analysis
Religions
Sociology of Religion
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Marx's phrase `opium of the people' is one of the most frequently quoted lines he ever wrote; perhaps because of that, it has been just as frequently misunderstood. By returning to the various meanings of opium in the mid-19th century, I revisit Marx's analysis, offering a way of reading the metaphor that is more consistent with Marx's dialectical method. The paper provides a revised analysis of Marx's “Towards a Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right: Introduction”, as well as suggestions about how this new more open-ended reading can contribute to Marxian analyses of religious beliefs and practices in late capitalism.
ISSN:0896-9205
1569-1632
DOI:10.1163/1569163053084360