History and Subjectivity: The Transformation of Marxist Theory - Softcover

Gottlieb, Roger S.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0391037889 ISBN 13: 9780391037885

Publisher: Prometheus Books, 1993

Synopsis

Can Marxism still serve the American left? HISTORY AND SUBJECTIVITY answers this question by synthesizing the conflicting perspectives of traditional Marxism, Western and neo-Marxism, socialist-feminist, and various minority political movements into a comprehensive and original social theory.

Roger Gottlieb argues convincingly that a properly transformed Marxism must understand how socialization processes and political structures and experiences have joined the mode of production as socially primary. Drawing on resources from Marxist philosophy, political economy, feminism, Western Marxism, and from detailed historical studies of racism, sexism, anti-Semitism, and the American left, Gottlieb has produced a sweeping synthesis of existing Marxist thought and an original and compelling social theory.

In this edition Roger Gottlieb has added a new introduction addressing the central questions that have emerged since the book's first publication. These include the effect on Marxist theory of the fall of communism, the theoretical challenge of postmodernism, the environmental crisis, and the rise of modern spiritual movements.

This book is challenging and complex, yet early written and accessible to advanced undergraduate and graduate students. It will provoke a strong response from any scholar concerned with the present status and future possibilities of Marxist theory.

About this title

From the Publisher

An original social theory synthesizing conflicting perspectives of Marxism

From the Inside Flap

"...rescues the probing spirit of Marx from the dead hand of Marx-ism. In this bold and argumentative book, Gottlieb joins other contemporary theorists in challenging the primacy of class and relations of production as keys to understanding our collective predicament. The result is an important contribution to left theory- both for its summation of the insights drawn from recent movements and for its provocative confrontation with the wisdom of the past."
—Barbara Ehrenreich

"Roger Gottlieb has written a very rich and often brilliant book.... [His] general thesis is developed, argued, and tested in the course of an impressive series of reconsiderations of debates in the Marxist tradition—impressive for the sheer breadth of the material mastered, as well as the critical acumen with which Gottlieb finds his way through the thicket of arguments and counter arguments. The result is an always lively, frequently exciting journey through the Marxist tradition, as well as a major contribution to the transformation which Marxism is currently undergoing."
—Richard Schmitt

"This is a serious and ambitious book. Its attempt to incorporate socialist feminism, and its interesting discussion of the American left are major strengths. It is a distinctive argument, framed within a personal sensibility, which should encourage wide response."
—Marx W. Wartofsky

About this edition

• Publisher: Prometheus Books
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0391037889
• ISBN 13: 9780391037885
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352