Bücher der Reihe Marx, Engels, and Marxisms

This intellectual biography provides an organic framework for understanding Antonio Gramsci's process of intellectual development, paying close attention to the historical and intellectual contexts out of which his views emerged. The Gramsci in Notebooks cannot fully account for the young director of L'Ordine Nuovo, or for the communist leader. Gramsci's development did not occur under conditions of intellectual inflexibility, of absence of evolution. However, there is a strong thread connecting the "e;political Gramsci"e; with Gramsci as a "e;cultivated man."e; The Sardinian intellectual's life is marked by the drama of World War I, the first mass conflict in which the great scientific discoveries of the previous decades were applied on a large scale and in which millions of peasants and workers were slaughtered. In all of his theoretical formulations, this dual relation, which epitomizes the instrumental use of "e;simpletons"e; by ruling classes, goes beyond the military context of the trenches and becomes full-fledged in the fundamental relations of modern capitalist society. In contrast with this notion of social hierarchy, which is deemed natural and unchangeable, Gramsci constantly affirmed the need to overcome the historically determined rupture between intellectual and manual functions, due to which the existence of a priesthood or of a separate caste of specialists in politics and in knowledge is made necessary. It is not the specific professional activity (whether material or immaterial) that determines the essence of human nature: to Gramsci, "e;all men are philosophers."e; In this passage from Notebooks, we find the condensed form of his idea of "e;human emancipation,"e; which is the historical need for an "e;intellectual and moral reform"e;: the subversion of traditional relations between rulers and ruled and the end of exploitation of man by man.

This book analyses contemporary capitalism from Brazil and from the Marxian critique of political economy, particularly; the co-dependency of wealth and poverty and of civilization and barbarism; the current tendency towards capital over-accumulation and the specific form assumed by the capitalist crisis in recent decades; the financialisation process of capital accumulation, its effects on the world of labour; and the place that the state assumes in this broad process. Current trends toward increasing social inequality, impoverishment of large sections of the population, precariousness of labour and rising unemployment, environmental destruction, the spread of austerity policies and the suppression of social policies, the rise of the far right (together with the strengthening of racism, misogyny, xenophobia, political and religious fanaticism and all manner of intolerance, etc.), low economic growth, the primacy of the financial dimension of capital accumulation, all need to be understood in their multiple and complex articulations, as fundamental and inherent elements of contemporary capitalism, associating empirical analysis with conceptual construction. Because they are strictly contradictory processes, a dialectical approach is required that reclaims the Marxian legacy, and aims to contribute to updating it, seeking to bring new and relevant elements to the Marxist debate, based on a specific interpretation of Marx's work, and as an immediate empirical basis the Brazilian reality.

This book provides a concise overview of Marx's philosophy and political economy, tracing various changes of his theoretical views over time through his practical and theoretical engagements with contradictions of capitalism from the unique perspective of Japanese Marxism.

From her account of state capitalism (part of her socio-economic critique of Stalinism, fascism, and the welfare state), to her writings on Rosa Luxemburg, Black and women's liberation, and labor, we are offered indispensable resources for navigating the perils of sexism, racism, capitalism, and authoritarianism.

This edited collection evaluates the relationship between Marxism and religion in two ways: Marxism's treatment of religion and the religious aspects of Marxism. Divided into two parts (Theory and Praxis), this book brings together the three different themes of Marxism, religion, and emancipation for the first time.

This book outlines essential issues of Antonio Gramsci's thought, from his relationship to other political thinkers, including Rosa Luxemburg, Lenin, and Machiavelli;

This book offers a complete presentation of the most important themes of Marx's thought, following the development of Marx's theory from the beginning to his death and offering a reconstruction and analysis that covers the whole of Marx's life and works.

Worldwide political changes since 1990 have driven a re-evaluation of Marxism, a renaissance in Marx-studies, and a renewed interest in his lifelong intellectual partner and personal friend Friedrich Engels.

This book advances an original conception of the relationship between state and corporate power in the United States.

Eminent Italian historian Giovanni Levi once notably remarked that ¿no one is a Marxist anymore,¿ pointing to a paradox in Italian cultural history. While what is called "Marxism" was supposedly hegemonic over Italian culture, and especially history writing, for decades in the postwar period, it then seems to have suddenly disappeared. This study questions such a vision of a monolithic and hegemonic Marxism. It starts from the most effective anecdote to all ideologising narratives¿that is, research into the texts themselves. It sees the Marxist historiography of the post-1945 period as a "history in the making," in which references to Marxian theory were a fundamental factor driving historiographical innovation. This allows the book to bring to light a highly original experience in the development of historiography, based on the long Italian tradition of reflection on historical knowledge.

Japanese Discourses on the Marxian Theory of Finance brings together in English for the first time six core essays essential to the understanding of the history and development of Japanese Marxian economics.