http://libcom.org/library/anti-semitism-national-socialism-moishe-postone
The topic is the relationship between Antisemitism and National Socialism. His basic point is that NS reified Antisemitism into an ideology that matched the way Marx deconstructed Capital's reification of Labor through commodity fetishism---as best I understand these terms.
In my view Postone's theory is overdetermined. There is too much theoretical apparatus used in the explanation. I consider much less is necessary and sufficient. In other words, human society seems to me to be a much simpler organism than Postone makes it out to be.
I also question the theoretical uniqueness hypothesis made by many, especially those interested in Jewish studies. I think there are two problems here. First, making the German example unique, has a serious implication that it can never happen again. There is a built in contradiction here. If the German example is unique, then why bother to worry about a repetition? In others the very postulate of uniqueness contradicts the potential for repetition.
My general attitude is while individual events in time can be assigned unique coordinates, there is also, often a generalizable instance that characterizes most events as part of a pattern. For example, Io has a unique appearence and composition due to its history of formation. But it also has non-unique features such as motion in an orbit and a gravitational field. While there is only one Io in the solar system, there are many other moons.
What made Germany unique, in my opinion was its own intellectual history and specfically the historical development of German Idealism. German philosophy developed like French and English philosophy from Christian theology. Meanwhile Judasim followed its own trajectory with a remarkably similar pattern, moving toward an ever greater reliance on rational argument rather than the mere pronouncements of doctrine. In addition of course was the social history of various Antisemitisms which amount to a whole subfield of European history. In the historical dialectic, the emancipation of German Jews, mass industrialization and development, combined with various ideologies arising from the German tradition in philosophy created the social foundation for National Socialism and its ultimate product, the fully mechanized and rationalized death industry.
Postone points out that vital transportation resources (trucks, railroads) needed by German armed forces on the Eastern front, were being diverted to run the death camps. He argues that there is no functionalist (or materialist) explanation possible. That's not quite correct. The diversion of need resources seems to contradict the well known utilitarian and practical nature of the German mentality. What's interesting here is that many German writers have noted the same contrast or contradiction between the practical or material side, and the spiritual or idealist side of the so-called German national character. Of course, I am reminded there is nothing German about this division of the public mind. The US is certainly filled with examples of the same sort of division.
Here is how I came to view this apparent contraction. The state apparatus was reconfigured into a vast and multifaceted war machine, including its ideological apparatus of mass media. The purpose of the war was conquest by creating mass death. There were two fronts, a domestic war handled by special military systems, and foriegn war handled by the more traditional military system. The question of allocation of resources was simply a judgment of priorities. It was judged as more important to get rid of enemies within, than enemies without.
What makes all this worrisome to me, is what I think is an almost universal tendency of nation states to follow similar patterns, especially in times of crisis. The international recognition of this tendency is precisely what founds the Universal Declaration of Human Rigths and the UN charter provisions agains war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.
I agree with Postone in one particular way and that is in the pattern of reification, the process of abstracting the enemy within as a mysterious force capable of threatening the national body, i.e. a disease. Sure, the specifics are unique to the history and culture, but not the general process. This process of de-humanizing the enemy, and then reifying them into a natural force, is at the base of much of human thought and also forms the basis for mythological thought that conversely humanizes or personifies natural forces or events like weather.
Whether the list agrees or not I would certainly like to read other people's views on Postone, because the subject greatly interests me. It also bares on concrete political issues today over immigrants, immigration, civil rights, human rights, international law, etc.
Another current theorist of interest is Seyla Benhabib. Like Postone, I haven't read a complete work, only scanned sections. The two interesect in their share interest in Hannah Arendt's work.
CG