Interview: José Paulo Netto

Abstract

José Paulo Netto is Professor Emeritus at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (linked to the School of Social Service) and a known Brazilian Marxist intellectual. Holding a Doctorate in Social Work, Netto stands out as the author of works that have also outlined Marxist thought in a didactic manner and without any reductionism. Among these works, we mention "O que é marxismo" (Brasiliense), more recently "Economia política: uma introdução crítica," in coauthorship with Marcelo Braz (Cortez), and the volume, with the collaboration of Miguel Yoshida, from Marx-Engels, "Cultura, arte e literatura: textos escolhidos" (Expressão Popular). With Carlos Nelson Coutinho, he organized three volumes of texts written by G. Lukács ("O jovem Marx", "Socialismo e democratização" and "Arte e sociedade", all by Editora UFRJ).

In this interview, Netto discusses, mainly, dialectics under the Marxist framework, understanding it both as a method of apprehending reality and as the movement of the real. To Netto, although Marx did not write much on the subject, he is an essential benchmark for those who today are looking to analyze and transform reality objectively. In line with this theme, the interview also deals with the relationship between theory and practice, the potential of scientific knowledge, and the contemporary academic logic.