Living a Marxist Life - by Andrew Pendakis (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

The last ten years have seen a dramatic upsurge of interest in socialist theory and politics. As a recent Washington Post op-ed put it, "We are living in a new social democratic moment". People are increasingly drawn to Marxist theory but find it difficult to imagine how it can be integrated practically into an everyday life pervaded by capitalist norms and social practices. Often intuitively, they agree with Marx's critique of capitalism, but don't know how to bridge the gap between their sense of dissatisfaction with the present and a revolutionary solution which can feel indefinitely postponed and remote.

Living a Marxist Life responds to this disconnect by framing Marxism not as a mere "theory" but as a practical philosophical truth-a lived practice that immediately changes the reality of those experimenting with it. From Frida Kahlo to Jean-Luc Godard, Pablo Picasso to Angela Davis, Marxists are not dry theoreticians but embodied agents of a process that is as intensely imaginative and joyful as it is demanding and difficult. This book, then, is a chronicle of radical change-a record of the ways our thoughts, habits, desires, actions, and emotions can be fundamentally reshaped by an encounter with Marx.

This book is not an introduction to Marx, nor a systematic defense of Marxism. Rather, it is a self-help book that calls into question the very idea of self-help, a guide to the good life that rejects normative morality, and an inspirational manual that promotes philosophy, sociology, and politics, not vague spirituality or religion, as solutions to the urgent problems that face us.

Review Quotes

"A deeply surprising and moving work. Pendakis's book is one I didn't know I needed, a clear-sighted, illuminating, unsentimental but - in the best and most rigorous way - romantic rumination on what it is to live while striving for a better world." --China Miéville, Author and Literary critic, UK

"Andrew Pendakis powerfully demonstrates how living a Marxist life provides the purpose, comradery, and joy that a new generation is seeking. In place of capitalism's isolation and self-interest, we develop modes of belonging that inspire and enrich us in ways we could never have imagined. In place of the shallow thrills of consumption, we produce deeper, relationships born out of the struggle for a better world. Marxist politics demands commitment and supplies meaning -- exactly what so many are searching for today. An indispensable book for our moment." --Jodi Dean, Author of Comrade: An Essay on Political Belonging (2019)

"How does it feel to be a Marxist? This rarely asked question sets Andrew Pendakis on an exhilarating voyage of discovery. From the sadness we feel at lives squandered due to the deadening numbness and shocking violence of capitalism, Living a Marxist Life also takes us to the ecstatic highs of solidarity, social understanding, and the collective struggle for a new and better world. The latter, Pendakis reminds us, are among the pleasures that make the Marxist experience so uplifting. Do yourself a favor and spend time with this lively, provocative, and indispensable text." --David McNally, Author of Monsters of the Market: Zombies, Vampires, and Global Capitalism (2011)

"Andrew Pendakis' provocative offering of his book as a "gateway drug" to living as a Marxist might just knock you off your feet and profoundly touch every aspect of your life. This is is a timely, readable, and enticing invitation to pursue a novel and dynamic encounter with Marxism." --Rosemary Hennessy, Professor of English, Rice University, USA

"This is a book urgently needed by young people not interested in adapting themselves to an unjust, exploitative and utterly inane world." --Yanis Varoufakis, Professor of Economics, University of Athens, Greece

About the Author

Andrew Pendakis is Associate Professor of Theory and Rhetoric at Brock University, Canada. He is co-editor of Marx and Marxism: Contemporary Marxist Theory: A Reader (Bloomsbury, 2014) and The Bloomsbury Companion to Marx (Bloomsbury, 2018). He is also co-editor of The Johns Hopkins Guide to Critical and Cultural Theory (forthcoming 2023).