This book provides an introduction to Marxism as it emerged in the nineteenth century, examines what happened when it was put into practice in the twentieth century, and how we can make use of it now in anti-capitalist struggle. It reviews the degeneration and distortion of Marxist politics, explores how we can put Marxist ideas to work, and reviews the contribution of revolutionaries. The author shows how these ideas are relevant to contemporary culture, technology and politics, including the emergence of decolonial, ecological and feminist critique, redeeming the promise of Marxism to help us struggle for open communism.
Ian Parker is a revolutionary Marxist with Anti-Capitalist Resistance. His books include Revolutionary Keywords for a New Left (Zero Books, 2017), Socialisms: Revolutions Betrayed, Mislaid and Unmade (Resistance Books, 2020) and (with David Pavón-Cuéllar) Psychoanalysis and Revolution: Critical Psychology for Liberation Movements (1968 Press, 2021).