Matt Vidal

Aviva Chomsky

Neil Larsen

Ramaa Vasudevan

Alex Gourevitch

Abbie Rhodes

Prospects for left renewal dominate this issue of Catalyst. Around the world, progressive forces continue to rebuild after decades retreat. In the process, fundamental questions of strategy are reemerging — from organized labor to electoral strategy to the function of culture and ideology in solidifying capitalist domination.

This issue asks not only how we might achieve power, but what we should prioritize once we have it. We question both the theory and viability of fashionable post-work utopias, give political context to the leftist victory in Colombia’s recent election, which broke with decades of right-wing rule, and analyze how socialists should think about public debt. We also turn a critical eye on C. L. R. James’s cricket memoir Beyond a Boundary and debunk the new discourse on “decoloniality,” the latest incarnation of postcolonial studies.

Vol.6, No.2

Catalyst

Tony Smith

Tomás Rotta

Paul Prew

Karl Marx is one of the most influential writers in history. Despite repeated obituaries proclaiming the death of Marxism, in the 21st century Marx's ideas and theories continue to guide vibrant research traditions in sociology, economics, political science, philosophy, history, anthropology, management, economic geography, ecology, literary criticism, and media studies. Due to the exceptionally wide influence and reach of Marxist theory, including over 150 years of historical debates and traditions within Marxism, finding a point of entry can be daunting. The Oxford Handbook of Karl Marx provides an entry point for those new to Marxism. At the same time, its chapters, written by leading Marxist scholars, advance Marxist theory and research. Its coverage is more comprehensive than previous volumes on Marx in terms of both foundational concepts and state-of-the-art empirical research on contemporary social problems. It is also provides equal space to sociologists, economists, and political scientists, with substantial contributions from philosophers, historians, and geographers. The Oxford Handbook of Karl Marx consists of six sections. The first section, Foundations, includes chapters that cover the foundational concepts and theories that constitute the core of Marx's theories of history, society, and political economy. This section demonstrates that the core elements of Marx's political economy of capitalism continue to be defended, elaborated, and applied to empirical social science and covers historical materialism, class, capital, labor, value, crisis, ideology, and alienation. Additional sections include Labor, Class, and Social Divisions; Capitalist States and Spaces; Accumulation, Crisis, and Class Struggle in the Core Countries; Accumulation, Crisis, and Class Struggle in the Peripheral and Semi-Peripheral Countries; and Alternatives to Capitalism.

The Oxford Handbook of Karl Marx

Matt Vidal

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