Reviews for Marx and the Proletariat: A Study in Social Theory, Vol. 18

The average rating for Marx and the Proletariat: A Study in Social Theory, Vol. 18 based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2016-09-29 00:00:00 Wai Fan Ammesa Chan I think a better title for this book is Axel van den Berg Tears Apart the Verso Classics. The Immanent Utopia is a devastating critique of Marxist theories of the state. Van den Berg is able to present difficult theories in clear language, often with very funny (but not meanspirited) comments and footnotes. A sample: It has often been remarked that Marxism seems to be more of an expression of the aspirations and "objective" conditions of intellectuals than of the working class. I believe this is essentially a correct assessment, and it, too, has a lot to do with Marxism's longstanding commitment to "immanentism". The attempt to demonstrate "scientifically" the necessary advent of "socialism" by arguing that the proletariat would be compelled by the force of its own miserable working and living conditions to realize it, seems to have been, from the outset, better suited to convince secularized intellectuals of the "objective" validity and inevitability of their hopes and ideals than to convince workers to do what History has commissioned them to do. The punchline: [H]as Marxism itself perhaps been one of the major obstacles in the search for a genuine socialist alternative?

Review # 2 was written on 2019-01-05 00:00:00 Gregorio Vetol Clear, concise, short. Perfect.