Postone and Conceptions of Nature: Towards a Panpsychist Marxism?

How theorists conceptualize the natural world influences their approach to addressing ecological and social issues. Within contemporary historical materialism, there has been minimal attention paid to conceptions of nature based on panpsychism, which is the view that consciousness is a fundamental and ubiquitous property of nature. This paper aims to contribute to the filling of this gap through investigating modern conceptions of nature through the lens of Moishe Postone's Time, Labor and Social Domination. This leads on to consideration of the critical potential of panpsychism, with particular attention to the process philosophy tradition inspired by Alfred North Whitehead. It is concluded that a Postonian immanent critique which incorporates insights from panpsychism broadens the base for envisaging postcapitalist possibilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]