Marxism, Pluralism and Beyond

Marxism, Pluralism and Beyond

Author: Gregor McLennan

Publisher: Polity

Published: 1991-01-08

Total Pages: 250

ISBN-13: 9780745603513

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In this book, Gregor McLennan examines developments in two of the most central traditions of social and political theory - Marxism and pluralism - and asks whether the relation between them is one of progressive convergence. McLennan begins by considering conceptual and empirical shifts in each tradition since their more orthodox or classical formulations. In a closely interwoven argument, he then traces the sociological, philosophical and political debates between these perspectives. The issue of class, for instance, highlights the challenges which the Marxist tradition has had to face, as the pivotal role of the proletariat has increasingly come into question. Equally, pluralists have had to accept that pervasive structural divisions - including class, race and gender, for example - shape political and social interaction. A further major issue is considered: in the current climate of `postmodern' thought is the entire debate between Marxism and pluralism now outmoded? In a series of critical assessments of positions which attempt to go `beyond' Marxism/pluralism, McLennan argues that the central tensions and positions within this classic dialogue have not yet been superceded.


Marxism, Class Analysis and Socialist Pluralism (RLE Marxism)

Marxism, Class Analysis and Socialist Pluralism (RLE Marxism)

Author: Les Johnston

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-04-17

Total Pages: 168

ISBN-13: 1317502612

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This book, first published in 1986, presents a radical challenge to socialist orthodoxy, subjecting a key component of that orthodoxy – Marxism – to sustained criticism. Les Johnston argues that Marxism cannot provide the foundations for a rigorous socialist theory or an effective socialist politics. A fundamental element of this criticism is the suggestion that the problem of ‘reductionism’ which has preoccupied Marxists is a red herring. Marxism’s problem is not its reductionism but its theoretical incoherence. Marxism is not ‘deterministic’, for there is invariably an indeterminate relationship between the materialism it invokes and the forms of politics it adopts. However, materialism is an obstacle to socialist theory. The contradictions and failures of Marxist class analysis suggest that the class concept is inadequate to the demands that socialists continue to place on it. It is not merely class which is problematic, however, but the conception of political interests which is associated with it. Even recent Marxist ‘revisionists’ who dispense with class primacy are unwilling to come to terms with the question of how socialist political interests are constituted. Socialist theory has to recognise the varied forces and interests on ‘the left’, and an effective socialism will have to be a pluralistic one. This means there can be no general theory of socialism, since a pluralistic socialism has to be able to adjust to varying social conditions.


The Marxist Conception of Ideology

The Marxist Conception of Ideology

Author: Martin Seliger

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1979-12-06

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 9780521296250

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A comprehensive and systematic account of Marx and Engel's ideology and the propositions intimately connected with it.


Critical Companion to Contemporary Marxism

Critical Companion to Contemporary Marxism

Author: Jacques Bidet

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 830

ISBN-13: 9004145982

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International and interdisciplinary in range and scope, the "Critical Companion to Contemporary Marxism" provides a thorough and precise panorama of recent developments in Marxist theory in the US, Europe and beyond.


Pluralist Economics

Pluralist Economics

Author: Edward Fullbrook

Publisher: Zed Books Ltd.

Published: 2013-07-18

Total Pages: 213

ISBN-13: 1848137508

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This book is an authoritative and accessible guide to the pluralist movement threatening to revolutionise mainstream economics. Leading figures in the field explain why pluralism is a required virtue in economics, how it came to be blocked and what it means for the way we think about, research and teach economics. The first part of the book looks at how neoclassical economics gained its stranglehold, particularly in the United States, and how the social and intellectual underpinnings of economics have enabled it to maintain this in the face of inconsistent evidence from the real world. This is then contrasted with different approaches to pluralism. Pluralist Economics then goes on to address the array of arguments for establishing pluralism, showing how economics came to function as a concealed ideology and not as a science, and how value-free economics is an illusion. Finally, it addresses the practical problems presented by this different way of doing economics.


Encyclopedia of Social Theory

Encyclopedia of Social Theory

Author: George Ritzer

Publisher: SAGE Publications

Published: 2004-08-11

Total Pages: 1053

ISBN-13: 1452265461

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Click ′Additional Materials′ for downloadable samples The Encyclopedia of Social Theory is an indispensable reference source for anyone interested in the roots of contemporary social theory. It examines the global landscape of all the key theories and the theorists behind them, presenting them in the context needed to understand their strengths and weaknesses. Theories covered include • Critical Theory • Enlightenment • Ethnomethodology • Exchange Theory • Feminism • Marxist Theory • Multiculturalism • Phenomenology • Postmodernism • Rational Choice • Structural Fundamentalism Led by internationally renowned scholar George Ritzer, the Encyclopedia of Social Theory draws together a team of more than 200 international scholars covering the developments, achievements, and prospects of social theory from its inception in the 18th century to the present. Understanding that social theory can both explain and alter the social world, this two-volume set serves as not only a foundation for learning, but also an inspiration for creative and reflexive engagement with the rich range of ideas it contains. Key Themes • American Social Theory • British Social Theory • Comparative and Historical Theory • Cultural Theory • Economic Sociology • Feminist Theory • French Social Theory • German Social Theory • Macrosociological Theories • Marxist and Neo-Marxist Approaches • Method and Metatheory • Network and Exchange Theories • Other/Multiple National Traditions • Politics and Government • Postmodern Theory • Psychoanalytic Theory • Schools and Theoretical Approaches • Symbolic Interaction and Microsociology • Theorists • Topics and Concepts in Social Theory Key Features • More than 300 entries from fourteen countries • Master Bibliography • Reader′s Guide • Extensive biographical coverage of major theorists • Extensive cross-referencing


Antinomies of Society

Antinomies of Society

Author: André Béteille

Publisher:

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 316

ISBN-13:

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Addressing ideologies like Marxism, secularism, and nationalism, this collection studies the tensions and contradictions in society as manifested through different social and political institutions. Written by one of the preeminent sociologists of India, it seeks to develop the methods, concepts, and theories of the discipline through an in-depth exploration of various establishments.


Beyond Sociology

Beyond Sociology

Author: Ananta Kumar Giri

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2017-12-20

Total Pages: 236

ISBN-13: 9811066418

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This book explores the contours of a transformational sociology which seeks to reconsider the horizons of sociological imagination. It questions accepted modernist assumptions such as the equation of society and nation-state, the dualism of individual and society and that of ontology and epistemology. Arguing that contemporary sociology suffers from what Ulrich Beck calls the Nato-like fire power of western sociology, it argues that sociology has to open itself to transcivilizational dialogues and planetary conversations about self, culture and society. The book also challenges scholars to go beyond a privileging of the post-traditional telos of modernist sociology and puts forward a foundational interrogation of modernist sociology. It underscores the limitations of established conventions of sociology and considering an alternative sociology based upon Confucian vision and practice of self-transformation. This collection offers a way to go beyond dominant structures of modern sociology and contemporary dominant ways of thinking about and doing sociology helping us cultivate a transdisciplinary sociology.


Pluralism: The Future of Religion

Pluralism: The Future of Religion

Author: Kenneth Rose

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2013-03-28

Total Pages: 187

ISBN-13: 1441195114

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Theology of religions has defaulted in the last two decades to an epicyclic inclusivism which seeks to undermine pluralism with claims that it is covertly triumphalistic and that it mirrors the logic of exclusivism. With the exception of pioneers in the field such as John Hick and Paul Knitter, most major figures in this theological field have retreated from pluralism and promote versions of particularism and inclusivism. Pluralism: The Future of Religion argues for an apophatic pluralism that is motivated by the insight that it is impossible to secure universal assent for changeable bodies of religious teachings. This insight implies the non-finality and consequent 'departicularization' of all religious teachings and their inclusivistic defenses. These conclusions point us inevitably toward pluralism and lead us out of the inclusivistic impasse of contemporary theology in religions.