An Anthology of Western Marxism

An Anthology of Western Marxism
Author: Roger S. Gottlieb
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 380
Release: 1989
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9780195055696

This unique anthology brings together readings from the works of the most significant post-Leninist Marxist thinkers. The selections reflect the diversity and high intellectual accomplishment of twentieth-century Marxism and show how these theorists have transformed traditional Marxism's general philosophical orientation, interpretation of historical materialism, models of socialist political practice, and conception of human liberation. The writings reveal the evolution of a sophisticated and democratic Marxism with a theoretical emphasis on class consciousness and subjectivity, a resistance to all forms of domination--including sexism--and a belief in the political power of consciousness-raising. The selections include the work of forerunners Karl Korsch, George Lukács, and Antonio Gramsci; figures from the 1930s, including Max Horkheimer, Theodor Adorno, and Wilhelm Reich; post-war and New Left thinkers Jean-Paul Sartre, Andre Gorz, Herbert Marcuse, and Jürgen Habermas; and contemporary socialist-feminists Sheila Rowbotham, Juliet Mitchell, Barbara Ehrenreich, Heidi Hartmann, and Ann Ferguson. Gottlieb places the readings in historical and theoretical context, providing a clear and insightful account of the intellectual problems and historical events that gave rise to the Western Marxism, and describing how it both anticipated and influenced contemporary radical movements. Each selection is prefaced by a biographical sketch and the book concludes with a bibliography suggesting further research.

Selections from the Prison Notebooks of Antonio Gramsci

Selections from the Prison Notebooks of Antonio Gramsci
Author: Antonio Gramsci
Publisher: INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHERS CO
Total Pages: 594
Release: 1971
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780717803972

"...[I]n the autumn of 1926, on the pretext of an alleged attempt on his life, Mussolini decided to make an end of even the semblance of bourgeois democracy that still survived. All remaining opposition organisations and their publications were banned, and a new, massive series of arrests was launched throughout the country. Among those arrested was Antonio Gramsci. Gramsci was a member of parliament -- but the régime was no longer interested in niceties about parliamentary immunity. He had also, since August 1924, been the general secretary of the Communist Party -- though of course under such political conditions the identity of party officials was kept secret. He was 35 years old. At his trial in 1928, the official prosecutor ended he peroration with the famous demand to the judge: "We must stop this brain working for twenty years!" But, although Gramsci was to be dead long before those twenty years were up, released, his health broken, only in time to die under guard in a clinic rather than in prison, yet for as long as his physique held otu his jailers did not succeed in stopping his brain from working. The product of those years of slow death in prison were the 2,848 pages of handwritten notes which he left to be smuggled out of the clinic and out of Italy after his death, and of which this volume is a selection." -- Pages xvii-xviii of Introduction.

Subaltern Social Groups

Subaltern Social Groups
Author: Antonio Gramsci
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Total Pages: 164
Release: 2021-08-10
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0231548869

Antonio Gramsci is widely celebrated as the most original political thinker in Western Marxism. Among the most central aspects of his enduring intellectual legacy is the concept of subalternity. Developed in the work of scholars such as Gayatri Spivak and Ranajit Guha, subalternity has been extraordinarily influential across fields of inquiry stretching from cultural studies, literary theory, and postcolonial criticism to anthropology, sociology, criminology, and disability studies. Almost every author whose work touches upon subalterns alludes to Gramsci’s formulation of the concept. Yet Gramsci’s original writings on the topic have not yet appeared in full in English. Among his prison notebooks, Gramsci devoted a single notebook to the theme of subaltern social groups. Notebook 25, which he entitled “On the Margins of History (History of Subaltern Social Groups),” contains a series of observations on subaltern groups from ancient Rome and medieval communes to the period after the Italian Risorgimento, in addition to discussions of the state, intellectuals, the methodological criteria of historical analysis, and reflections on utopias and philosophical novels. This volume presents the first complete translation of Gramsci’s notes on the topic. In addition to a comprehensive translation of Notebook 25 along with Gramsci’s first draft and related notes on subaltern groups, it includes a critical apparatus that clarifies Gramsci’s history, culture, and sources and contextualizes these ideas against his earlier writings and letters. Subaltern Social Groups is an indispensable account of the development of one of the crucial concepts in twentieth-century thought.

Lenin, Hegel, and Western Marxism

Lenin, Hegel, and Western Marxism
Author: Kevin B. Anderson
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 384
Release: 2021-12-20
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9004471618

Back in print with a comprehensive new introduction by the author, Lenin, Hegel, and Western Marxism is the classic account of Lenin's extensive writings on Hegel in relationship to his theorization of imperialism, the state, and revolution.

Georg Lukacs Reconsidered

Georg Lukacs Reconsidered
Author: Michael Thompson
Publisher: A&C Black
Total Pages: 265
Release: 2011-04-07
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1441108769

An international team of contributors explore contemporary insights into the work of Georg Lukacs in political theory, aesthetics, ethics and social and cultural theory.

Marx, Marxism and the Spiritual

Marx, Marxism and the Spiritual
Author: Anjan Chakrabarti
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 687
Release: 2020-09-10
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1000076431

While Marxian theory has produced a sound and rigorous critique of capitalism, has it faltered in its own practice of social transformation? Has it faltered because of the Marxian insistence on the hyper-secularization of political cultures? The history of religions – with the exception of some spiritual traditions – has not been any less heartless and soulless. This book sets up a much-needed dialogue between a rethought Marxian praxis of the political and a rethought experience of spirituality. Such rethinking within Marxism and spirituality and a resetting of their lost relationship is perhaps the only hope for a non-violent future of both the Marxian reconstruction of the self and the social as also faith-based life-practices. Building on past work in critical theory, this book offers a new take on the relationship between a rethought Marxism and a rethought spirituality (rethought in the life, philosophy and works of Christian thinkers, anti-Christian thinkers, Marxian thinkers, those critical of Marxist Statecraft, Dalit neo-Buddhist thinkers, thinkers drawing from Judaism, as well as thinkers drawing critically from Christianity). Contrary to popular belief, this book does not see spirituality as a derivative of only religion. This book also sees spirituality as, what Marx designated, the "sigh of the oppressed" against both social and religious orthodoxy. In that sense, spirituality is not just a displaced form of religion; it is a displaced form of the political too. This book therefore sets up the much needed dialogue between the Marxian political and the spiritual traditions. The chapters in this book were originally published in Rethinking Marxism – A Journal of Economics, Culture and Society.

Western Marxism

Western Marxism
Author: Fouad Sabry
Publisher: One Billion Knowledgeable
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2024-08-14
Genre: Political Science
ISBN:

Explore the intricate world of "Western Marxism" in the "Political Science" series. This book delves into the evolution and impact of critical theories in Western societies, providing deep insights into contemporary political thought and social movements. Whether you're a professional, student, or curious reader, "Western Marxism" elevates your understanding of complex ideas. 1: Western Marxism - Introduces the origins and key principles distinguishing Western Marxism from its Eastern counterpart. 2: Louis Althusser - Analyzes Althusser's contributions, focusing on structuralism and ideology. 3: Critique of Dialectical Reason - Examines Sartre's work on dialectics and historical materialism in Western discourse. 4: Karl Korsch - Investigates Korsch's revisionist theories and their influence on Western thought. 5: Praxis - Explores praxis as a crucial element in Western Marxist thought, linking theory and practice. 6: Raya Dunayevskaya - Surveys Dunayevskaya's contributions to Marxist humanism and reinterpretations of Marx. 7: Marxist aesthetics - Examines Marxism's influence on Western artistic movements and cultural criticism. 8: 20th-century French philosophy - Traces Marxism's impact on French philosophers like Foucault and Derrida. 9: Marxist schools of thought - Maps out diverse interpretations within Western Marxism. 10: For Marx - Revisits Althusser's work and its implications for understanding Marx. 11: Philosophy in the Soviet Union - Analyzes Marxist philosophy's evolution in the Soviet context. 12: Main Currents of Marxism - Traverses key intellectual currents within Western Marxism. 13: Marxist humanism - Explores the humanist dimensions of Western Marxist thought. 14: Young Marx - Examines Marx's early writings and their influence on Western Marxism. 15: Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844 - Analyzes Marx's early explorations of alienation and labor. 16: Marxist philosophy - Synthesizes diverse strands of Western Marxist philosophy. 17: György Lukács - Investigates Lukács's contributions to Western Marxism, focusing on reification and class consciousness. 18: Orthodox Marxism - Examines orthodox Marxism's foundational tenets and their adaptations in Western thought. 19: Dialectical materialism - Explores dialectical materialism in Western Marxism, contrasting historical interpretations. 20: History and Class Consciousness - Revisits Lukács's work on ideology, consciousness, and revolutionary praxis. 21: Outline of Marxism - Provides an overview of key Marxist principles in Western contexts. "Western Marxism" offers essential insights and validations across critical theories, making it a must-have for any library or curriculum. This intellectual journey is key to understanding contemporary political and social dynamics.

Karl Marx's Writings on Alienation

Karl Marx's Writings on Alienation
Author: Marcello Musto
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 164
Release: 2021-05-07
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 303060781X

The theory of alienation occupies a significant place in the work of Marx and has long been considered one of his main contributions to the critique of bourgeois society. Many authors who have written on this concept over the 20th century have erroneously based their interpretations on Marx’s early writings. In this anthology, by contrast, Marcello Musto has concentrated his selection on the most relevant pages of Marx’s later economic works, in which his thoughts on alienation were far more extensive and detailed than those of the early philosophical manuscripts. Additionally, the writings collated in this volume are unique in their presentation of not only Marx’s critique of capitalism, but also his description of communist society. This comprehensive rediscovery of Marx’s ideas on alienation provides an indispensable critical tool for both understanding the past and the critique of contemporary society.

Western Marxism and the Soviet Union

Western Marxism and the Soviet Union
Author: Marcel Van Der Linden
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 393
Release: 2007
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9004158758

If the Soviet Union did not have a socialist society, then how should its nature be understood? The present book presents the first comprehensive appraisal of the debates on this problem, which was so central to twentieth-century Marxism.

Marx and Marxism

Marx and Marxism
Author: Peter Worsley
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 137
Release: 2013-08-21
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1134451547

Discusses varieties of Marxism, distinguishing between ideas that remain valid, those that are contestable, and those that should be discarded. Emphasises connections between theoretical debates real political struggles.