Reinventing Marxism

The collapse of the Soviet Union provides the opportunity to re-evaluate Marxism as an alternative to conventional pro-capitalist perspectives. Arguing that Soviet Marxism distorted Marxian thought, this book acknowledges that Marxism must move beyond its traditional Soviet formulation. What is needed is a new, critical Marxism that is integral to a radical political economy – a Marxism that sees society as an organic whole, dependent upon an integrated set of relationships. The author applies his relational-historical approach to four problems: poverty and exploitation, unemployment, the state and the history of the Soviet Union. Then, using the same approach, he explores several important subjects of classical Marxism – dialectics, materialism, determinism, and Marxian humanism. In the final part of the book, Sherman reconstructs contemporary Marxism as a political economy and uses it as a critique of such failed communist societies as the former Yugoslavia and Soviet Union. He also shows how Marxism can be a valuable tool for examining society, economics, and politics in the United States.

Author Biography

Howard J. Sherman is professor of economics at the University of California, Riverside. His many books include The Business Cycle: Growth and Crisis in Capitalism, and Foundations of Radical Political Economy.