The K-Future Team of the Center for Contemporary Korean Studies invites you to a colloquium with Professor Yong-Taek Chung.

• Title: Moishe Postone: A Critical Theory that Critiques Critical Theory

• Speaker: Prof. Yong-Taek Chung (Research Professor, Institute for Theological Ideas, Hanshin University)

• Date & Time: Monday, May 26, 2025, 4:00–6:00 PM

• Venue: Room 501, IBK Communication Center (Bldg. 64), Seoul National University

Abstract:
This lecture explores the possibilities of contemporary critical theory through the thought of Moishe Postone (1942–2018), the Jewish-Canadian theorist who worked primarily in the United States. In dialogue with discourses on the “end of critique” raised by thinkers such as Bruno Latour and Jacques Rancière, the speaker will analyze how Postone’s project may be understood as a “critical theory that critiques critical theory.”
Focusing on Postone’s magnum opus, Time, Labor, and Social Domination: A Reinterpretation of Marx’s Critical Theory (1993/2003), the lecture will illuminate his concept of the “treadmill effect” and its account of capitalism’s fundamental contradictions and the contradictory dynamics of historical development. Core issues include the distinction between material wealth and value, the dialectic of abstract and historical time, the paradox of value reconfiguration under increasing productivity, and the tension between the superfluity of labor and the necessity of value.
Unlike traditional critical theory rooted in the dichotomy of essence and appearance or in the logic of inversion, Postone emphasizes the movement of capital as a “moving contradiction,” thereby opening new avenues of critique. The lecture will also consider how Postone’s insights extend to analyses of financial capitalism today. In a concluding note, the speaker will apply Postone’s controversial “theory of modern anti-Semitism”—deeply tied to Postone’s own intellectual and existential trajectory—to the study of “exterminationist” hate politics in South Korea’s far-right Protestantism, thereby testing the contemporary relevance of his framework.
Ultimately, this talk aims to show how Postone’s work not only responds to the crisis of critical theory but also opens new horizons for understanding pressing issues in modern society.

We warmly welcome the participation of all interested colleagues.

Contact:
Yong-rae Jung, Research Assistant
📧 jyongr422@snu.ac.kr