Written by Bolshevik philosopher, economist, and statesman Nikolai Bukharin in 1921, Historical Materialism: A System of Sociology was the standard primer on sociology and the historical materialist method in the early Soviet Union. Cosmonaut Press presents this newly typeset edition, based on the authorized translation of the third Russian edition, as part of Cosmonaut Classics, a series intending to reprint classic works from the history of socialist thought, especially those works that are not currently in print in affordable editions, or are only available as poor-quality scans of earlier editions.Brimming with insightful exposition and fascinating historical detail, Historical Materialism remains relevant to socialists today attempting to make sense of their world, and will be of interest to those looking to gain an understanding of the worldview of the Bolsheviks of this period.

Historical Materialism: A System of Sociology (Cosmonaut Classics)

Bukharin, Nikolaĭ

History

Cosmonaut Press

Product Description Around the turn of the century, anti-fascism in Germany underwent a transformation. Instead of denouncing the prevailing social order as the natural breeding ground of fascist movements, the focus of the critique shifted onto regressive, unenlightened, or "abridged" forms of anti-capitalism. Asserting that capitalism is "abstract rule," it set out to accuse its various adversaries of easily sliding into antisemitism, construed by anti-fascists as a "hatred of the abstract."The theory behind this new type of anti-fascism was originally devised by Moishe Postone in his seminal essay "Anti-Semitism and National Socialism." However, as Michael Sommer convincingly demonstrates, Postone's arguments are based on a misreading of Marx and are theoretically unsustainable. What is more, they have provided the groundwork for an "uncritical critique", aiding in the degeneration of anti-fascism from a left-wing endeavor into an ideology that is fully affirmative of liberal capitalism.This translation of Sommer's German-language text of 2014 comes with an extensive new introduction by Mike Macnair that links these changes to more recent developments in the Anglophone world, as well as situating Postone's theory in a broader historical context. About the Author Michael Sommer researches Marx's theory of capitalism. In 2008, together with Dieter Wolf, he published a critique of the Greek-French economist and philosopher Cornelius Castoriadis entitled Imaginäre Bedeutungen und historische Schranken der Erkenntnis. Together with Susann Witt-Stahl, he edited the volume Antifa heisst Luftangriff! Regression einer revolutionären Bewegung (2014), in which the text translated for this book was originally published.Maciej Zurowski is a translator working in German, Polish, and English. He has translated political biographies of Otto Bauer and Ernest Mandel and historical texts by Karl Kautsky, Ernst Niekisch, Clara Zetkin, and others. He has also written for Melodie und Rhythmus, Weekly Worker, and Jacobin.Mike Macnair teaches law at St. Hugh's College, Oxford. He is a regular writer for the Weekly Worker. He is the author of Revolutionary Strategy (2008) and the co-author with Jamie Gough of Gay Liberation in the 80s (1985).

Anti-Postone: or, Why Moishe Postone's Antisemitism Theory is Wrong, but Effective

Politics & Social Sciences

Sommer, Michael

Politics & Government

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