The Theory of Revolution in the Young Marx

Historical Materialism #2

by Michael Löwy

“This book is brilliant, incisive, honest and deserves to be read with attention. It is an important event in the Marxist theoretical production.” —Politique Hebdo

“A remarkable essay, whose merit is not only theoretical, but also historical, because it examines unknown aspects of the evolution of young Marx’s thinking.”—Politis

In the 1840s, the young German journalist Karl Marx developed ideas about modern society that remain as relevant today as when they were first developed. Here Löwy shows the lasting force of Marx’s early writings on alienation and emancipation.

Michael Löwy is research director in sociology at the Centre National de la Recherché Scientifique, Paris. He is the author of many books, including Romanticism Against the Tide of Modernity.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, History

205 pages, Paperback

First published December 13, 2002

About the author

French-Brazilian Marxist sociologist and philosopher. He is presently the emerited research director in social sciences at the CNRS (French National Center of Scientific Research) and lectures at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS; Paris, France). Author of books on Karl Marx, Che Guevara, Liberation Theology, György Lukács, Walter Benjamin and Franz Kafka, he received the Silver Medal of the CNRS in 1994.

Reviews

[Roberto Yoed · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent book that really goes in depth not only with the theory of revolution but also with the communist party and class consciousness themes.

My only problem with this book is the anti-centralistic and anti-stalinist posture, but aside from that it is a really good text.

[Feargal McGovern · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great presentation of the development of Marx's political thought emphasizing the importance of working class self emancipation as the driver of revolutionary activity.

In the process shows just how much stalinists broke with Marx's political thought and adopted a political program more a align with liberalism through their mistaken, long since historically proven false belief that revolution can be directed from above by a top down directed party beaucracy

[Amar · Rating 3 out of 5]

1. This book, unfortunately, shares many of the same views as Althusser, which have been responded to and refuted innumerable times by other Marxists (the best of which is summarized by a non-Marxist, Kolakowski, in his article “Althusser’s Marx”).
2. Much of what Lowy says has been iterated already (albeit in a less explicated fashion) by earlier Marxists. For instance, much of what Franz Jakubowski wrote in his doctoral dissertation is found in this work. One might think this book is the better option to read then, given that it expands a bit more than Jakubowski did--and adds additional commentary that Jakubowski failed to add to his dissertation. However, all the worthwhile parts were then later iterated much better by later Marxists, such as Hal Draper.
3. The author is stuck in the very one-sided rigid thinking which he criticizes. Beyond the fact that he accepts the so-called “epistemological break” in Marx’s thinking, he also holds that “works [have been written] in which attempts are made to find in certain sentences taken out of context a content which is already communist or already materialist. But, although it is true that one can find in Marx’s articles in the Rheinische Zeitung some signs that help us to understand his later development (and comparison with his ‘mature’ writings is a valid tool to use in that research), it is no less important to perceive in these texts everything that is still neo-Hegelianism, still ‘the German ideology.’” While I agree with the sentiment that the use of quote farming to find “already communist” notions is frustrating, to act as if we must perceive everything before as stuck in “the German ideology” is absurd. The obvious counterpoint would be that the very fact Marx was capable of breaking out of his bourgeois thinking lied in the fact that he already contained, in some part of his analysis, thinking which may be identified as materialist. Breaks do not happen so rigidly.

[David Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Michael Löwy successfully shows how Marx’s distinctive theory of revolution–the self-emancipation of the working class — crystallized, at least in part, out of his actual interactions with workers and their organizations in conjunction with his profound critique of Hegel’s philosophy and of other Young Hegelians...

"This book is a well-constructed, lucid, readable, largely chronological account of the events, persons and ideas in Marx’s milieu, and how they affected the course of his thought. The author follows several distinct themes in the development of Marx’s thought while, in the spirit of totality, delineating their interconnections with each other and with his ripening theory of revolution. In the process, Löwy introduces us to writings by the young Marx that are, sadly, rarely cited."--Eli Messinger, The International Marxist-Humanist.

Full review: https://imhojournal.org/articles/revi...

Highly recommended; 4/5 stars.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Löwy situates Marx's philosophy of praxis historically in this short book. It's a good compliment to another book I recently read, Feenberg's The Philosophy Of Praxis: Marx, Lukács And The Frankfurt School. In other words, while that work explored the philosophical implications of the philosophy of praxis, this one focused on its development through Marx's early works (and some of its history after his death—to be sure a larger subject, which I think would have been very rewarding if it had been expanded).

[Redpoet · Rating 3 out of 5]

now done with this, but one glaring question arises in the mind of this autonomous Marxist. The author's conception of self emancipation is certainly not the same as mine. For example, he writes on page 137 on the role of the Party, "It's role is not to act in place or "above" the working class but to guide the latter toward the path of self-liberation, toward the communist "mass" revolution." This is a recurrent theme of his. Perhaps, he could explain to us what the difference is between "...act..."above" the working class..." and "guiding" the working class. Either self emancipation means the working class emancipates itself, or it does not. You can't have it both ways. His continuous references to communists as the vanguard and his description, for example, on the same page, same paragraph, of the Party as the "vanguard of the proletariat" indicates he the really thinks.

[Carlos Wagner S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uno de los mejores estudios que he leído sobre la formación del pensamiento de Marx, particularmente en lo relativo a la formulación y fundamentación de su teoría de la revolución como auto-emancipación de los trabajadores. Sirve para entender que el marxismo no es un invento de algún intelectual iluminado, sino una expresión crítica del propio movimiento obrero en sus propósitos de liberación, o en otras palabras, que es resultado de un desarrollo político colectivo. En este sentido, se puede decir que en la teoría revolucionaria de Marx (aunque no solamente en Marx) lo que vemos es al movimiento obrero criticándose a sí mismo.

[Tom L · Rating 5 out of 5]

A historical materialist analysis of the young Marx's intellectual formation and development of the Marxist theory of revolution. Crystal clear writing. A lot familiar terrain covered, but also important and underestimated influences brought to the foreground.

[Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Again, I read it, but not rating it because I can't remember a single theme of it. Dense.