The Postmodern Marx

In the wake of Communism's collapse in Eastern Europe, one of today's foremost interpreters of Marx's texts and ideas offers postmodern readings of canonical texts to discover what Marx has to say to our postmodern condition. Terrell Carver takes advantage of the ideological release of Marxism from its association with Soviet Communism to explore how Marx's writings can be reread in the spirit in which they were written: as a critique of capitalist society.

Employing textual and narrative analysis developed within postmodernism, Carver carefully examines Marx's language—and the language around Marx—to arrive at a reassessment that is free from the restraints of past dogma. He addresses ways in which Marx is changing: which texts are read, how hermeneutics and deconstruction have altered our reading of them, and trends toward viewing Marx not simply as a revolutionary or an economist but as a political thinker whose insights are relevant to current debates over free markets and mixed economies.

Carver first leads readers through a new, detailed examination of Capital. He then explores Marx's relationship with the socialism of his contemporaries, critiques translations of Marx, examines works written with Engels, considers Marx's relationship to Hegel, and applies Marx's thought to issues of gender.

These re-readings convey the importance of continuing to engage Marx's thought and show that there is more to Marx than we might ever hope to discover. It is a lucid and provocative work that liberates Marx's ideas for what they can contribute to a fresh evaluation of our present political milieu.

Marx has changed. What we read, how we read and why we read Marx have all altered dramatically. This book explores these multiple new Marxes. In ten thematic chapters, Carver examines unfamiliar texts and new aspects of Marx's writings, ranging from vampires in Capital to his vision of communism in recently re-edited manuscripts. Marx's career in democratic politics is re-evaluated, and his relationship to the gender politics of his day and ours is explored. Most importantly, Carver re-assesses the strengths and weaknesses of Marx as a theorist and critic of capitalist society. This book will appeal to anyone who wants a fresh perspective on Marx, arising from a reconciliation of historical scholarship with the "de-centredness" of postmodern writing.

Booknews

Carver (political theory, U. of Bristol) explores the multiple new views of the founder of modern communism in the ruins of the Modern world he wrote from and about. Some of the perspectives are vampires in Capital, unfamiliar texts, Marx's career in democratic politics, his relationship to gender politics, and his strengths and weaknesses as a theorist and critic of capitalist society. Paper edition (unseen), $17.95. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Terrell Carver is Professor of Political Theory at the University of Bristol, England. He is the author of Marx and Engels: The Intellectual Relationship (Indiana, 1985) and co-editor of Rational Choice Marxism (Penn State, 1995).