Description
CRITICAL MARXISM
Concepts, Context, Combat
by Ian Parker
This book provides an introduction to Marxism as it emerged in the nineteenth century, examines what happened when it was put into practice in the twentieth century, and how we can make use of it now in anti-capitalist struggle. It reviews the degeneration and distortion of Marxist politics, explores how we can put Marxist ideas to work, and reviews the contribution of revolutionaries. The author shows how these ideas are relevant to contemporary culture, technology and politics, including the emergence of decolonial, ecological and feminist critique, redeeming the promise of Marxism to help us struggle for open communism.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ian Parker is a revolutionary Marxist with Anti-Capitalist Resistance. His books include Revolutionary Keywords for a New Left (Zero Books, 2017), Socialisms: Revolutions Betrayed, Mislaid and Unmade (Resistance Books, 2020) and (with David Pavón-Cuéllar) Psychoanalysis and Revolution: Critical Psychology for Liberation Movements (1968 Press, 2021).
CONTENTS
Introduction
Systematic Analysis Versus Conspiracy Theory.
Part I. Concepts: From Academic Critique to Political Practice
Philosophy: Building Critical Analysis from Experience; Sociology: Getting a Grip on Society; Economy: Grounding Critique and Resistance in Money and Power.
Part II. Context: Bureaucratic Distortions of Radical Theory
Stalinist Realism: Bitter Legacies of Failure on the Left; Antisemitism: The Search for Supposed Enemies Within; Class and Identity: How Realist Approaches Operate Politically.
Part III. Combat: Making Marxism Inclusive and Revolutionary Today
Lenin and Leninism: Mistaken Readings and Reclamation Work; Trotsky and Trotskyism: Contributions, Deviations and Revolutionary Method; Intersectionality: Feminist, Queer and Decolonial Critique; Technology: Artificial Intelligence and Social Media; Communism: Internal Histories and Hopes for the Future; Open Communism: Redeeming Critical Marxism Now.