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The Immanent Utopia: From Marxism on the State to the State of Marxism
Van der Gerg (sociology, McGill U., Montreal) got his plump dissertation on the Marxist theory of the state published (Princeton University Press) just before the collapse of the Soviet sphere set Marxism on a steep decline in both academic and political circles. He says it now articulates the state of Marxist state theory at a particular point in history. Annotation ©2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
592 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
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May 1, 2008
I think a better title for this book is Axel van den Berg Tears Apart the Verso Classics.
The Immanent Utopia is a devastating critique of Marxist theories of the state. Van den Berg is able to present difficult theories in clear language, often with very funny (but not meanspirited) comments and footnotes.
A sample: It has often been remarked that Marxism seems to be more of an expression of the aspirations and "objective" conditions of intellectuals than of the working class. I believe this is essentially a correct assessment, and it, too, has a lot to do with Marxism's longstanding commitment to "immanentism". The attempt to demonstrate "scientifically" the necessary advent of "socialism" by arguing that the proletariat would be compelled by the force of its own miserable working and living conditions to realize it, seems to have been, from the outset, better suited to convince secularized intellectuals of the "objective" validity and inevitability of their hopes and ideals than to convince workers to do what History has commissioned them to do.
The punchline: [H]as Marxism itself perhaps been one of the major obstacles in the search for a genuine socialist alternative?
The Immanent Utopia is a devastating critique of Marxist theories of the state. Van den Berg is able to present difficult theories in clear language, often with very funny (but not meanspirited) comments and footnotes.
A sample: It has often been remarked that Marxism seems to be more of an expression of the aspirations and "objective" conditions of intellectuals than of the working class. I believe this is essentially a correct assessment, and it, too, has a lot to do with Marxism's longstanding commitment to "immanentism". The attempt to demonstrate "scientifically" the necessary advent of "socialism" by arguing that the proletariat would be compelled by the force of its own miserable working and living conditions to realize it, seems to have been, from the outset, better suited to convince secularized intellectuals of the "objective" validity and inevitability of their hopes and ideals than to convince workers to do what History has commissioned them to do.
The punchline: [H]as Marxism itself perhaps been one of the major obstacles in the search for a genuine socialist alternative?
Displaying 1 of 1 review