Contradiction and Overdetermination in Occupy Wall Street

Contradiction and overdetermination in the work of Louis Althusser provide conceptual resources for the theorization of capitalism as a structural totality, and instances of class struggle, such as Occupy Wall Street, as part of an immanent movement of movements that is embedded within and against the differential logic of the mode of production. A reconsideration of Althusser is warranted on the grounds that his early work resonates theoretically with cutting-edge theoretical formulations of Autonomist Marxism, it remains useful to any materialist conceptualization of class struggle and history, and it provides means of assessing the conditions under which instances of class struggle transform into revolutionary situations.