From Marx to Gramsci

by Paul Le Blanc (Editor)

The readings collected here―of Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Rosa Luxemburg, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, Leon Trotsky, and Antonio Gramsci― reflect the experience of the labor, socialist, and communist movements that did so much to shape modern history. A dedication to working-class revolution gives coherence to the influential philosophical, economic, sociological, and historical works of these writers.Paul Le Blanc's introductory essay probes the structure and dynamics of Marxism as a political orientation, tracing connections among components that can be found in the the theory of capitalist development, the theory of the labor movement, the strategy of revolution, the conception of the transition to socialism. Others identified with the Marxist tradition―such as Plekhanov, Kautsky, Stalin, Mao―are also discussed, and attention is given to perspectives of such varied critics of Marxism as Sidney Hook, Bertram D. Wolfe, James Burnham, Daniel Bell, Robert Heilbroner, and C. Wright Mills. Historical reflections are blended with discussion of the durability of capitalism, the disappointment of hopes for workers' revolution, the "collapse of communism," issues of race and gender, the environment, and challenges of the twenty-first century.

Genres: Politics, Philosophy, Nonfiction, History, Theory, Unfinished

364 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1996

About the author

Paul Le Blanc is an American historian at La Roche University in Pittsburgh as well as labor and socialist activist who has written or edited more than 30 books on topics such as Leon Trotsky and Rosa Luxemburg.

Reviews

[Roberto Yoed · Rating 2 out of 5]

This time I felt the antistalinism and pro-trotskyism a little bit too much (Paul tends to say that almost all of Gramsci and Lenin's theory were already "developed" by Trotsky) and that was very annoying.

If you can get past that, the synthesis of the general theory of marxism (of both concepts and political praxis by "the big six") is pretty good, but nonetheless somewhat simplistic (do not expect the falling rate of profit nor other dense sections of Das Kapital to be treated here, on the contrary, expect more philosophical and political discussions with some basic economics here and there).

As always, one must be careful with this kind of texts.

Man do I hate Trotsky.

[Soph Nova · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was exactly what I was Looking for; a thorough introduction to the primary sources of Marxist theory. Introductory essay is fantastic, and a good survey of Marx/Engels, Luxemburg, Lenin, Trotsky, and Gramsci. Also had a long list of further reading at the end to dig in to. What more could you ask for with a reader?

[Matthew Laidler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’d been looking for a while for a book which covered the key elements of Marxist theory and and related them to its key thinkers. This book did exactly that.

The first half of the book covers the key elements of revolutionary Marxist theory, looking at what the theory says and how they have played out when applied in reality. Le Blanc is honest about some of the short comings and obstacles that Marxists have to come to terms with and solve if they want to make the theory a reality. The second half of the book presents a range of selected writings from ‘The Big Six’ of Marxism: Marx & Engels, Luxemburg, Lenin, Trotsky and Gramsci. It was very helpful to have some of these writings, which may have been difficult to come across individually, presented in an easy to access way. It’s also very refreshing to read directly from these thinkers and a great starting point to go on to read more from them.

It was very educational, easy to access and has given me a much better understanding of how Marxist theory has developed since the days of Marx and Engels and why this has happened. Everyone who wants to indulge in Marxist thought should learn its history. The book promotes the Marxist tradition of critiquing and debating ideas which has, to some degree, become disassociated with Marxism after some of the authoritarian regimes which have acted in its name. This is something which is integral to the Marxist tradition and that we can never afford to lose. We see that all of these thinkers can be wrong and can disagree with each other on certain issues. Allowing space for these disagreements and mistakes to happen is essential to discovering the truth and achieving the society we wish for.

We must be honest about our mistakes and always be open to critique if we are to build a better world.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great intro to "The Six" of Marxism

[Momo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the book very much, because it is build like a good uni seminar. The first half is a VERY good introduction into the history and theory of Marxism, the second half are some carefully selected writings of six important marxist scholars. Even though I did not read a whole book of one of “the six” (except Marx) I now have an idea what are the key concerns and differences between them, and that is what I wanted to take from this book. Only the texts of Gramsci could have been chosen better.

[Samantha Shain · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was by far my favorite overview of Marxist and communist thinking. It took a more political bend than some others I have read, which gravitate more toward philosophy. I really enjoyed the chance to spend some time with each of the 6 highlighted writers. My favorites were Engel, Trotsky, and Luxembourg; the latter particularly impressed me with her air-tight arguments. Le Blanc's introductory essay (~120 pg) was useful and accessible. Overall an incredible volume!

[Chuck Sneed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Filled in a lot of gaps in my knowledge of Marxism. I would've liked more connecting tissue between chapters to illustrate the evolution of Marxist thought from one writer to the next. I thought the Gramsci writings were pretty myopic in scope and way too dense with niche historical references.