Alexandria Digital Research Library

Democracy, Dialectics, and Difference: A Critical Representation of the Hegelian Marxist Tradition

Author:
Lovato, Brian Christopher
Degree Grantor:
University of California, Santa Barbara. Political Science
Degree Supervisor:
Kevin B. Anderson
Place of Publication:
[Santa Barbara, Calif.]
Publisher:
University of California, Santa Barbara
Creation Date:
2013
Issued Date:
2013
Topics:
Political Science, General
Keywords:
Race
Gender
James
Marxism
Dunayevskaya
Hegel
Genres:
Online resources and Dissertations, Academic
Dissertation:
Ph.D.--University of California, Santa Barbara, 2013
Description:

In 1985, Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe issued a serious challenge to the Marxist theoretical tradition with the publication of Hegemony and Socialist Strategy. Six years later, the collapse of the Soviet Union signaled the end of a nearly century long experiment with Marxism in practice. Both of these events ought to make scholars question the relevance of Marxist critique in the 21st century. This research looks at the work of activist and intellectual Raya Dunayevskaya in order to construct a response to both the current economic and political crises as well as the theoretical crisis that Marxist political thought currently faces. In order to do so, Dunayevskaya's work is compared with two of her contemporaries, C. L. R. James and Cornelius Castoriadis. It is argued that Dunayevskaya represents a unique tradition of libertarian and Hegelian Marxism that is able to respond to the dual crisis mentioned above. This is shown by 1) laying out a Marxist conception of the political that can compete with those offered by current non-Marxist thinkers; 2) claiming that Dunayevskaya and James are able to integrate the concepts of race and gender into their conception of democratic politics in a way that does not fall into the weaknesses of Marxism as theorized by its post-structuralist critics; 3) explaining Dunayevskaya's contribution to the understanding of Marx's appropriation of Hegel; 4) arguing that these facets of Dunayevskaya's thought offer an important contribution to Marxist, anarchist, and radical democratic scholars and activists in the context of current popular struggles.

Physical Description:
1 online resource (232 pages)
Format:
Text
Collection(s):
UCSB electronic theses and dissertations
ARK:
ark:/48907/f3fx77fh
ISBN:
9781303539527
Catalog System Number:
990040924840203776
Rights:
Inc.icon only.dark In Copyright
Copyright Holder:
Brian Lovato
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