The Crisis in Historical Materialism

Class, Politics, and Culture in Marxist Theory

1990
Author:

Stanley Aronowitz
Foreword by Colin MacCabe

A landmark study that uncovers the fundamental problems in Marxist theory with respect to nature, gender and race relations, the concept of class, and historical time.

A landmark study that uncovers the fundamental problems in Marxist theory with respect to nature, gender and race relations, the concept of class, and historical time.

Aronowitz’s book is in a class of its own in American Marxism. It is pioneering in its theoretical formulations, penetrating in its philosophical interrogations, powerful in its novel social analysis, and provocative in its prescriptions for political action. . . . In short, this book is a tour de force and necessary reading for anyone interested in Marxism, Continental philosophy, or contemporary American life.

Cornel West, Village Voice

A landmark study that uncovers the fundamental problems in Marxist theory with respect to nature, gender and race relations, the concept of class, and historical time. Stanley Aronowitz argues that the traditional Marxist paradigm cannot comprehend the originality of new social movements, except strategically. He concludes his extensive analysis by offering a new framework for the deconstruction of historical materialism.

“Aronowitz’s book is in a class of its own in American Marxism. It is pioneering in its theoretical formulations, penetrating in its philosophical interrogations, powerful in its novel social analysis, and provocative in its prescriptions for political action. . . . In short, this book is a tour de force and necessary reading for anyone interested in Marxism, Continental philosophy, or contemporary American life.” Cornel West, Village Voice

Stanley Aronowitz is professor of sociology at the Graduate Center, City University of New York. His books include Science as Power: Discourse and Ideology in Modern Society, Working Class Hero: A New Strategy for Labor, and, with Henry Giroux, Education Under Siege.

Aronowitz’s book is in a class of its own in American Marxism. It is pioneering in its theoretical formulations, penetrating in its philosophical interrogations, powerful in its novel social analysis, and provocative in its prescriptions for political action. . . . In short, this book is a tour de force and necessary reading for anyone interested in Marxism, Continental philosophy, or contemporary American life.

Cornel West, Village Voice