Class Struggle
A Political and Philosophical History
Authors:
Losurdo, Domenico
Available for the first time in English, this book examines and
reinterprets class struggle within Marx and Engels’ thought. As Losurdo
argues, class struggle is often misunderstood as exclusively the
struggle of the poor against the rich, of the humble against the
powerful. It is an interpretation that is dear to populism, one that
supposes a binary logic that closes its eyes to complexity and inclines
towards the celebration of poverty as a place of moral excellence. This
book, however, shows the theory of class struggle is a general theory of
social conflict. Each time, the most adverse social conflicts are
intertwined in different ways. A historical situation always emerges
with specific and unique characteristics that necessitate serious
examination, free of schematic and biased analysis. Only if it breaks
away from populism can Marxism develop the ability to interpret and
change the world.
Domenico Losurdo is Emeritus Professor in the University of Urbino,
Italy. He is an Italian philosopher and political theorist, focusing
specifically on Marxist thought. He publishes in a variety of languages,
including English, French, Italian, and German. His work been discussed
by publications such as Financial Times, Guardian, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Die Zeit, Le Monde, Le Monde Diplomatique, Libération, and Corriere della Sera.
“Thanks to a documentation that is very large and amazingly
informative, Losurdo convincingly shows how his scheme of class struggle
is useful to explain modern history up to the present times. Far from
being just a history of the concept of class struggle and of the
meanings it has assumed over time, Losurdo’s book is a great essay of
philosophy of history.” (Gianni Vattimo, Emeritus Professor of
Philosophy, University of Turin, Italy)
“In his new book Losurdo demonstrates brilliantly with a great
clarity and rigor a very important thesis today: Marx, Engels, Lenin,
Gramsci and Mao have developed a non-binary conception of class
struggle. The integral concept of class struggle goes beyond the
classical opposition between Work and Capital. It includes the secular
feminist fight for emancipation from male domination and the modern
battles for national liberation.” (André Tosel, Emeritus Professor of
Philosophy, University of Nice, France)
“Losurdo shows convincingly that the often maligned concept of class
struggle can be used in a productive way when put in a broader context.
When class struggle is thus defined as a comprehensive theory of social
conflict the term becomes indeed a highly useful instrument in analyzing
the various aspects of the present global crisis and their
interconnections.” (Jürgen Pelzer, Professor, Occidental College, USA)
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