The second edition of the Historical Dictionary of Marxism covers of the basics of Karl Marx’s thought, the philosophical contributions of later Marxist theorists, and the extensive real-world political organizations and structures his work inspired—that is, the myriad political parties, organizations, countries, and leaders who subscribed to Marxism as a creed. This text includes a chronology, an introductory essay, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 500 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, both thinkers and doers; political parties and movements; and major communist or ex-communist countries. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Marxism.
Socialism has been an influential force for social change for almost two centuries. Its philosophy and ideology have inspired millions while simultaneously arousing fear and revulsion in its enemies. Having emerged after the French Revolution in the effort to build upon and develop the egalitarian ideas of the Enlightenment, socialism has taken many forms. It has, furthermore, sometimes been manipulated and reformulated by opportunists who have built authoritarianism and totalitarian dictatorships in its name. Opponents seize on such examples to frighten away people who may otherwise have found socialism attractive. Socialism has survived such criticism and misrepresentation as its core principles have struck a chord with generations of people concerned with social justice. This third edition of Historical Dictionary of Socialism contains a chronology, an introduction, a glossary, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 500 cross-referenced entries on activists, politicians, political thinkers, political parties and organizations, and key topics, concepts, and aspects of socialist theory. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the Socialism.
Engaging with a critical analysis of the base and superstructure thesis, regarding which a surprising number of reputed Marxist thinkers betray a perpetual ambivalence – by frequently deploying it in a variety of contexts, but simultaneously airing various reservations about it – this book proposes a radical departure from the presently predominant understanding of it. The popular view of the base as comprising economics, and superstructure as encompassing almost all other spheres of social life, is criticised as “panoramic”, or “panoptic”, or the “extended” version, to which Marx’s rigorously defined base of production relations and superstructure of politico-legal spheres is juxtaposed. Revisiting Marx’s formulations in his famous 1859 Preface, described here as his purloined letters, the study rehabilitates his restricted version, and upholds its conceptual superiority over its extended avatar that is currently ubiquitous. The substitution of Marx’s restricted version with the widely believed extended version of the thesis is characterised here as a blunder, and this book traces the biography of this blunder, through the intricate and tortuous theoretical developments that traverse a transnational and multidisciplinary territory, constituting the history of Marxism. The last chapter argues for a paradigm shift, in favour of the mode of production thesis, in order to redeem the holistic vision of Marx. This shift is necessitated by the extenuation of the status of the base and superstructure thesis that results from the restoration of Marx’s restricted version. This chapter grapples with the issues involved in preparing the ground for that shift. It also contends that, although these theoretical shifts are never formulated in a conscious and conclusive manner – as is done here – the best practices in Marxist analyses are always inspired by the methodological implications of the mode of production thesis, and, for this reason, the thesis is claimed to be the “conceptual unconscious of Marxism”.
"Marxism, one of the few philosophies that turned into an effective movement, was not so long ago the official ideology (in one form or another) of much of humanity. It was initially promulgated by the Soviet Union, then imposed on Central and Eastern Europe, later emerged in the People's Republic of China, and gradually spread to other parts of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Although declining in popularity, the movement still remains in power in several countries and is supported by numerous parties and countless individuals around the world." "The A to Z of Marxism covers, in a comprehensive manner, the history of Marxism and its philosophers and schools of thought. It contains a chronology, a list of acronyms and abbreviations, an introductory essay, a bibliography, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries on basic terms and concepts as well as significant people, parties, and countries." --Book Jacket.
Marxist ideology is the only fully scientific ideology, the only one able to guide mankind toward the settlement of fundamental social problems and to point out the royal road for the proletariat to take in its march toward socialism and communism. Without Marxism, modern people cannot establish true social ideals, nor can they engage in the rational pursuit of values. Without Marxism, modern people cannot choose the correct path of development, nor can they build up new forms of civilizations. Without Marxism, modern people would never base their commitments to schedule the consensus-building effort and support the consensus-building process on any irrefutably and sufficiently sound theoretical foundations.
Throughout the 1980s major changes in development policy took place in several Third World socialist countries. This book examines why this shift from 'orthodoxy' to 'reform' occurred in Mozambique, Vietnam and Nicaragua, as well as in Cuba during the early 1980s. It provides an in-depth analysis of the changes which took place in economic and food policy and the nature of the crisis which prompted the reforms. It focuses particularly on the role of social forces in shaping the reform process.
The project to publish the works of Marx and Engels continues, and this book, published in 1984, puts together a comprehensive bibliography of their works either written in or translated into English, including books, monographs, articles, chapters and doctoral dissertations, together with the works of their interpreters. The inclusion of the secondary literature makes this a particularly valuable bibliography, and contributes greatly to the understanding of the thought of Marx and Engels.