An Anthology of Western Marxism: From Lukďż1/2cs and Gramsci to Socialist-Feminism [Paperback]

Roger S. Gottlieb (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 6, 1989 | ISBN-10: 0195055691 | ISBN-13: 978-0195055696

This unique anthology brings together readings from the works of the most significant post-Leninist Marxist thinkers. The selections reflect the diversity and high intellectual accomplishment of twentieth-century Marxism and show how these theorists have transformed traditional Marxism's general philosophical orientation, interpretation of historical materialism, models of socialist political practice, and conception of human liberation. The writings reveal the evolution of a sophisticated and democratic Marxism with a theoretical emphasis on class consciousness and subjectivity, a resistance to all forms of domination--including sexism--and a belief in the political power of consciousness-raising.

The selections include the work of forerunners Karl Korsch, George Luk�cs, and Antonio Gramsci; figures from the 1930s, including Max Horkheimer, Theodor Adorno, and Wilhelm Reich; post-war and New Left thinkers Jean-Paul Sartre, Andre Gorz, Herbert Marcuse, and J�rgen Habermas; and contemporary socialist-feminists Sheila Rowbotham, Juliet Mitchell, Barbara Ehrenreich, Heidi Hartmann, and Ann Ferguson. Gottlieb places the readings in historical and theoretical context, providing a clear and insightful account of the intellectual problems and historical events that gave rise to the Western Marxism, and describing how it both anticipated and influenced contemporary radical movements. Each selection is prefaced by a biographical sketch and the book concludes with a bibliography suggesting further research.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An excellent text to supplement a study of Karl Marx and current political thought. The inclusion of feminist thought makes it doubly useful."--Susan Hunter, West Virginia University

"Provides a concise yet comprehensive selection of crucial Western Marxist writings. The theoretical breadth of the anthology is particularly notable, in its avoidance of eulogizing the Frankfurt School, and its emphasis upon socialist-feminist texts."--Robin R. Walz, University of California, Davis

"An extremely useful survey of the interface between law and society."--David P. Adams, Columbus State Community College

"A fine collection of recent Marxist writings."--David J. Detmer, Valparaiso University

"A very good collection....Includes selections from many different contemporary aspects of the modern left."--Stephen Joseph, Framingham State College

"Very good selection of papers in a handsome format and affordable to students."--David B. Boersema, Pacific University

"The best of its kind, with the key authors and key essays!"--George V. Zito, Syracuse University

"A very good introduction to the high points of Western Marxism. The texts are the central texts in that tradition...[and] these selections are quite the best. I am not aware of any comparable book now available. Gottlieb's Introduction is nothing short of impressive. He is obviously intimately acquainted with the large body of Marxian and post-Marxian literature, as well as with the political movements that were, to varying extents, inspired by the writings of Karl Marx. He manages to provide a very complex account of the intellectual debates and the responses to historical events that gave rise to the tradition known as 'Western Marxism.' He does this in a way that the undergraduate will find intelligible and interesting. I consider Gottlieb's Introduction a first-rate piece of scholarly writing."--Richard Schmitt, Brown University

"Just very good."--Jean Belkhir, University of Wisconsin, Superior

About the Author

Roger S. Gottlieb is at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (April 6, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195055691
• ISBN-13: 978-0195055696
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,132,456 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Roger S. Gottlieb is professor of philosophy at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He is the author or editor of sixteen books and more than 100 articles on environmentalism, religious life, contemporary spirituality, political philosophy, ethics, the Holocaust, femin-ism, and disability. He is internationally known for his work as a leading analyst and ex-ponent of religious environmentalism, for his passionate and moving account of spiri-tuality in an age of environmental crisis, and for his innovative and humane description of the role of religion in a democratic society. He is editor of six academic book series, on the editorial boards of several journals, and contributing editor to Tikkun Magazine.
Gottlieb's writings have appeared in top academic journals such as the Journal of Philosophy, Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Conservation Biology, and Ethics; in popular publications such as E Magazine online, The Boston Globe, and Orion Afield; and in anthologies celebrating the best of Jewish writing, environmental ethics, religious life, spirituality, the Holocaust, and disability. Widely respected for his unique range of interests, combination of personal and political passion, clarity of writing, and originality, he is probably the only American intellectual to be reviewed or interviewed in publications as disparate as San Francisco Chronicle, Environmental Ethics, the Boston Globe, Christianity Today, Philosophical Review, Journal of Harvard Divinity School, New Age Journal, Socialism and Democracy, Discover, Chronicle of Higher Education, Sierra Club Magazine, Shambhala Sun, and The American Prospect.
For the last fifteen years Gottlieb has concentrated on the religious, spiritual, and eth-ical dimensions of the environmental crisis and on the place of religion in a democratic society. His anthology This Sacred Earth: Religion, Nature, Environment is known inter-nationally as the first comprehensive collection on the topic. His 1999 book, A Spirituali-ty of Resistance: Finding a Peaceful Heart and Protecting the Earth was called by Prot-estant theologian John Cobb "a true spiritual guide for our day," and excerpted in Tikkun and Orion Afield. His 2002 book Joining Hands: Politics and Religion Together for Social Change received advance praise from Harvey Cox and Bill McKibben.
Gottlieb's recent work on religious environmentalism, A Greener Faith: Religious En-vironmentalism and our Planet's Future and The Oxford Handbook on Religion and Ecology establishes him as the leading commentator and exponent of this unprece-dented political, environmental, and religious movement. Bob Edgar, head of the Na-tional Council of Churches, said A Greener Faith provided "a bright picture of the faith community's capacity for caring for God's creation" and that following Gottlieb's lead would help us "go a long way toward being more effective stewards of our fragile pla-net." Carl Pope, Executive Director of the Sierra Club, called it a "seminal book examin-ing the emerging debate on environmental ethics among the world's great faith tradi-tions." Thomas Berry, one of the world's leading ecotheologians said it offers "superb insight" and is a "most needed guide."
Gottlieb newest work is Engaging Voices: Tales of Morality and Meaning in an Age of Global Warming a collection of related but distinct short stories in which Gottlieb ex-plores moral, political, intellectual, and spiritual dilemmas provoked by the environmen-tal crisis; and asks how, in the face of powerful emotions and deeply contested views, we can live and talk to each other. [Read the Introduction to Engaging Voices.]
As a speaker Gottlieb combines intense analytic intelligence, a personal and humo-rously engaging style, and an inspiring message of personal responsibility, social change, and spiritual vision. Audiences from universities, churches, synagogues, and community and environmental organizations have found him a riveting presenter whose message resonates long after his formal presentation is done and can lead people to act as well as think and feel.
He lives in Boston with his wife, noted psychotherapist and author Miriam Greenspan, and shares in the care of his daughters, Anna and Esther. The spiritual and political di-mensions of his relation to Esther, who has multiple disabilities, forms part of Chapter 8 of Joining Hands.