Reconstructing Marxism: Essays on Explanation and the Theory of History (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780860915546)

Reconstructing Marxism explores fundamental questions about the structure of Marxist theory and its prospects for the future. The authors maintain that the disintegration of the old theoretical unity of classical Marxism is in part responsible for what is commonly called the "crisis of Marxism." Only a reconstructed Marxism can come to terms with this disintegration.

Addressing a range of problems in historical materialism and class analysis, the authors compare historical materialism with Darwinian evolutionary theory, and identify what is distinctively "historical" in Marx's theory of history. Through an evaluation of G.A. Cohen's defense and Anthony Giddens's critique of historical materialism they suggest what a plausible, yet still Marxist, theory of history might be. They analyze the relationship of micro-analysis to macro theory and the assignment of causal primacy in explanations, and present a general assessment of the current state of Marxist theory and the prospects for its analytical reconstruction.

Distinguished by the clarity of its presentation, the analytical rigor of its argument and its concern with fundamental philosophical and sociological issues, Reconstructing Marxism advances, at this critical juncture in the history of Marxism, a challenging new research program.

Author: Andrew Levine, Erik Olin Wright, Elliott Sober
ISBN-10: 0860915549
ISBN-13: 9780860915546
Publisher: Verso
Language: English
Published: 03/17/1992
Pages: 216
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.76lbs
Size: 9.09h x 6.04w x 0.64d