Adventures in Marxism

The essays in Adventures in Marxism, which span from a portion of Berman's 1963 Oxford thesis (supervised by Isaiah Berlin) to a reconsideration of the Communist Manifesto on its sesquicentennial in 1998, are a splendid presentation of that 'learning and sorting.' The book's not only about Marx, however--Berman also considers those who have followed in Marx's footsteps, including Edmund Wilson, Georg Lukacs, Meyer Schapiro, and Walter Benjamin, as well as an interesting chapter on Studs Terkel's Working. And there are marvelous passages in which Berman writes about the workers around him in the streets of New York. But none of this, perhaps, would have been possible if a young Berman hadn't tracked down a copy of Marx's Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844, a collection of spirited essays that for years influenced him far more than the Manifesto or Capital. Berman's essays show how the collapse of communist tyrannies does not negate the potential for 'Marxist humanism' to offer a progressive response to globalization; his enthusiasm for such a project makes the essays as delightful to read as they are informative.

"I'd put Berman's slim, thoughtful book of essays into any enquiring hand to feel that Marx the thinker's future was assured." London Review of Books

"Adventures in Marxism is a fine collection, a lovely addition to anybody's bookshelf. Marshall Berman is one of our liveliest and most generous interpreters of Marx. Vagabond and eclectic, to be sure, but always honest and brimming with ideas and romance. He can help us learn to create ourselves while we try to change the world." The Nation

"[Marshall Berman] represents what's best in the Marxist tradition, which still has a chance of surviving the century of its catastrophic victories." Christopher Hitchens

A new beginning for Marxism might just be on the horizon of a landscape despoiled by Soviet communism and a now wobbling world capitalism. The attention attracted by the 150th anniversary of The Communist Manifesto included laudatory references to Marx in venues as unexpected as The New York Times and The New Yorker. More predictably, the tributes in such publications focused on the strength of Marx as a critic of capital or a powerful wordsmith, rather than as an advocate of communism. But, if Marxism is to enjoy a rebirth in the coming century, appreciation needs to move beyond its value as a critical tool or a literary pleasure. The emancipatory potential of Marxism, its capacity to configure a world beyond the daily grind of selling one's labor to stay alive, will have to be established anew. No one has made a better start to this task than the esteemed critic and writer Marshall Berman. Berman first read The Communist Manifesto in the same week as Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman while at high school. A few years later, now a student at Columbia University, he was handing out copies of Marx's 1844 Manuscripts, purchased for 50 cents each at the (Soviet) Four Continents Bookstore in New York, as holiday presents for friends and relatives. Here was the beginning of a lifelong engagement with Marxism that, as this volume demonstrates, has been both consistent and refreshing. In these pages are discussions of work on Marx and Marxism by Edmund Wilson, Jerrold Siegel, James Billington, Georg Lukcs, Irving Howe and Isaac Babel. They are brought together in a single embrace by Berman's spirited appreciation of Marxism as expressive, playful, sometimes even a little vulgar, but always an adventure.

Delightful, informative essays inspired by Marx.

Marshall Berman is Distinguished Professor of Political Science at City College of New York and CCNY Graduate Center, where he teaches political theory and urban studies. He writes frequently for The Nation and The Village Voice, and serves on the editorial board of Dissent. He is the author of The Politics of Authenticity; All That Is Solid Melts into Air; and On the Town.