Marx Modernity - (Modernity and Society) by Robert Antonio & Ira J Cohen (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

In this illuminating and concise collection of readings, Karl Marx emerges as the first theorist to give a comprehensive social view of the birth and development of capitalist modernity that began with the Second Industrial Revolution and still exists today.

From the Back Cover

Karl Marx is, perhaps, the founding figure of modern social theory. His ideas and writings have been entwined with some of the twentieth century's greatest struggles for justice, and some of its worst repression. He has inspired an equal measure of followers and critics, and entirely diverse lines of research and theory. Each new generation of social thinkers have advanced theories in the wake of Marx, proving his undying contemporary relevance. In this illuminating and concise collection of readings, Karl Marx emerges as the first theorist to give a comprehensive social view of the birth and development of capitalist modernity that began with the Second Industrial Revolution and still exists today.

Organized analytically, each section of readings relates to an enduring facet of Marxist thought. Along with Marx's own writing, there are fifteen contemporary essays on a variety of topics showing the influence of Marx on today's world. Editorial introductions are included at the beginning of the volume and of each section to situate the readings historically and intellectually. Every student and scholar of social theory and Marxism will find this to be the defining collection of Marxist modern thought.

Review Quotes

"Robert J. Antonio's collection on Marx and modernity brings together keyworks of Marx and a variety of contemporary Marxist writings that engage topics such as globalization, information technology, the triumph of neo-liberal market capitalism and global struggles against it. Antonio provides a lucid overview of Karl Marx's life and works, and debates over his legacy that should be extremely useful for contemporary readers."
--Douglas Kellner, University of California at Los Angeles

"The essays by Marx are intelligently chosen, the lively commentaries by a host of well-known scholars exhibit the range of his influence, while the outstanding introduction by Robert Antonio illuminates his salience for our time. This is a first-rate collection!"
--Stephen Eric Bronner, Rutgers University

About the Author

Robert J. Antonio is Professor of Sociology at the University of Kansas. He has written widely on Marx, critical theory, and classical and contemporary social theory, and is the co-editor of A Weber-Marx Dialogue (with Ronald Glassman, 1985).