Beyond the Turn: Ernst Bloch and the Future of Speculative Materialism

This article makes a case for the relevance of Ernst Bloch's philosophy to thinking through the political consequences of contemporary “speculative materialist” theory. Quentin Meillassoux's speculative materialism offers a vision of the world in which a future of justice may be materially possible, but there is little or nothing human beings can practically do to bring it about. Meanwhile, according to Bloch's understanding of the concept, human beings are capable of bringing about a better future for all through practical political struggle. Comparing these two thinkers, I argue that the future of speculative materialism, both in the sense of the future such a theory imagines and in that of the future of the theory itself as a politically viable materialism, must engage with the heritage of Bloch's thought.