Abstract

This paper analyses Etienne Balibar’s thesis of an “ontology of relation”, considering two moments of his theoretical production: his reading of Marx’s 6th thesis on Feuerbach as the grounds for a relational ontology or a thought on transindividuality; and an analysis of the development of this thesis in terms of what Balibar calls “anthropological differences”. Following Balibar, in this paper I suggest that the basic theoretical elements of a thought on transindividuality can be found in both Althusser and Balibar’s contributions to Lire Le Capital (1965), which opens the possibility of conceiving a “Marxist principle of individuation”. I conclude by discussing the limits and the effects of Balibar’s proposal.