Following Marx: Method, Critique and Crisis

Historical Materialism #20

by Michael A. Lebowitz

What does it mean to follow Marx? In this examination of Marx’s methodology combined with specific applications on topics in political economy such as neo-Ricardian theory, analytical Marxism, the falling rate of profit, crisis-theory, monopoly-capital, advertising, and the capitalist state, this volume argues that the failure to understand (or the explicit rejection of) Marx’s method has led astray many who consider themselves Marxists.

About the Author Michael A. Lebowitz is professor emeritus of Economics at Simon Fraser University. His book, Beyond ‘Capital': Marx's Political Economy of the Working Class was awarded the Deutscher Memorial Prize in 2004. His Build it Now: Socialism for the Twenty-first Century has been republished in several languages.

Genres: Politics, Philosophy, Nonfiction

365 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Michael Lebowitz is professor emeritus of economics at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada, and the author of several books including The Socialist Imperative, The Contradictions of “Real Socialism,” and The Socialist Alternative. He was Director, Program in Transformative Practice and Human Development, Centro Internacional Miranda, in Caracas, Venezuela, from 2006-11.

Reviews

[Roberto Yoed]

A regular study of Marx's Capital (it misses some essential concepts but nonetheless it gets through).

The critique to other schools (neoclassics, neoricardians and marxist analytics) is pretty good.

The study of the dialectic method is the best part: it really shows the 'secrets' of Hegel in Marx's own method.

The problem with this book is it's ambition, and therefore, it's extention: separate studies would've been much better rather than a collage of multiple topics.