Robert Kurz

Robert Kurz was a German philosopher, social critic, journalist, and editor of the journal *Exit!*. He was a prominent theorist of value criticism (Wertkritik) in Germany. Born on December 24, 1943, in Nuremberg, Kurz studied philosophy, history, and pedagogy at the University of Erlangen. He was involved in the student revolt of 1968 and the New Left discussions. After leaving the Communist Workers Union of Germany, he became a principal founder and theorist of the "critique of value" movement in the 1980s. Kurz's work focused on a fundamental critique of modern socialization forms, questioning the structural causes of economic inefficiencies and challenging the Marxist labor movement's uncritical affirmation of labor. His book *Der Kollaps der Modernisierung* (1991) presented a theory of societal collapse due to rationalization, leading to the disappearance of wage labor and a move toward a "barbaric end." He advocated for a society beyond commodity exchange, emphasizing "sensual reason" and a critique of modernity's ontological categories. Kurz co-founded the magazine *Marxistische Kritik* in 1986 and was a key figure in the Krisis group. He later co-founded the group EXIT! following a split. He was known for his radical critique of the "labor and class struggle fetish" in traditional Marxism, viewing value-socialization as a totalitarian principle. His later work incorporated the "dissociation theorem" developed by his wife, Roswitha Scholz. Kurz's best-known publication is *Schwarzbuch Kapitalismus* (1999). He chose to live marginally, working various jobs, including as a cab driver and a night worker in a print shop, rather than pursue an academic career. He contributed regularly to newspapers in Germany and Brazil. Robert Kurz died on July 18, 2012, in Nuremberg.