Beyond Binaries

It is argued that Marxism is most useful for radical psychology in negative terms-as a form of critique. It has much less to offer as a positive theoretical programme. The binaries which make up Marxist epistemology (individual-social, culture-economy, base-superstructure, truth-falsity, real-illusory) constrain creative thought and lead to some by now predictable cul-de-sac. The Foucauldian emphasis on studying onto-formative practices is more useful. This claim is illustrated through a critical examination of Foster's construction of the discursive and extra-discursive, Osterkamp's premises regarding human nature, and the view of false consciousness developed by Augoustinos