Abstract:

According to Marx, capitalism is hostile to some spiritual production. What he says is not only referred to one single incident of vanishing of ancient Greek epics, but a profound statement touching on the cultural contradictions of capitalism. This statement implies that the capitalist production is hostile to the poetic art, to the labor art that creates something according to the law of beauty, and to the non-profit social ethical spirit. The modernity and contemporaneity of these issues can be confirmed by some relevant arguments advanced by Max Weber and Daniel Bell, both of whom are non-Marxist scholars. Marx regards capitalism as an inevitable stage of historical progress, and meanwhile criticizes the negative side of such progress, expressing his expectation and pursuit of a balanced development of material production and spiritual production.

Key words: spiritual production, hostility, Karl Maix, Max Weber, Daniel Bell