Giving dialectics a chance?

Abstract

This article introduces the Cultural Dynamics book forum on Denise Ferreira da Silva's Unpayable Debt. The book examines the epistemological principles of Western thinking that make raciality and its practical implications for the contemporary world possible. Among Ferreira da Silva’s targets is Karl Marx’s theory of value. Commentators respond to the author’s argument, with debates on whether Marx's approach sufficiently addresses the role of race within capitalism. This introduction adds to the debate wondering whether Ferreira da Silva’s framing of Marx’s ideas inadvertently mirrors the post-Enlightenment pillars she criticizes in other philosophers, suggesting a potential misunderstanding of Marx’s dialectics. The article winds up by emphasizing the significance of Marx’s dialectics as a transformative tool to critique the commodity form and its power dynamics in a racialized world economy.