Palgrave Advances in Continental Political Thought offers an accessible, introduction to a selection of key individual continental thinkers from Spinoza to Baudrillard. Covering 'classical' exponents of the continental tradition such as Hegel and Marx, 'moderns' like Gramsci and Habermas and 'postmoderns' like Deleuze and Virilio, this book introduces the main ideas of each thinker and surveys the theoretical and political uses made of each by contemporary scholars. The breadth and contemporary angle make this a unique, up-to-date collection on central figures that will be invaluable to students and teaching staff.

To begin with, rational choice Marxism, promised to construct historical explanations and social theories with clarity and rigour. Subsequently, it took a `political turn' in addressing issues of class and production, and the prospects for electoral socialism. This anthology commences with the founding classics - Erik Olin Wright's `What is Analytical Marxism?' and Alan Carling's spirited challenge to the Marxist establishment - which are answered with critical responses detailed by Ellen Meiksins Wood and Michael Burawoy in previously uncollected debates. Also included are further debates charting the historical progression of rational choice Marxism. The editors demonstrate that the clarity and rigour originally promised by the rational choice Marxists was never in fact achieved, but that rational choice Marxism has considerably enhanced the theoretical treatment of class and production in a world of commodification and difference.

This volume offers an accessible, higher-level introduction to a key selection of individual continental thinkers from Spinoza to Baudrillard. Covering "classical" exponents of the continental tradition such as Hegel and Marx, "moderns" like Gramsci and Habermas and "postmoderns" like Deleuze and Virilio, this book introduces the main ideas of each thinker and surveys the theoretical and political uses made of each by contemporary scholars. The breadth and contemporary angle make this a unique, up-to-date collection on central figures that will be invaluable to students and teaching staff.

To begin with, rational choice Marxism, promised to construct historical explanations and social theories with clarity and rigour. Subsequently, it took a `political turn' in addressing issues of class and production, and the prospects for electoral socialism. This anthology commences with the founding classics - Erik Olin Wright's `What is Analytical Marxism?' and Alan Carling's spirited challenge to the Marxist establishment - which are answered with critical responses detailed by Ellen Meiksins Wood and Michael Burawoy in previously uncollected debates. Also included are further debates charting the historical progression of rational choice Marxism. The editors demonstrate that the clarity and rigour originally promised by the rational choice Marxists was never in fact achieved, but that rational choice Marxism has considerably enhanced the theoretical treatment of class and production in a world of commodification and difference.

Karl Marx was the first theorist of a truly global capitalism, and remains perhaps its most trenchant critic. This clear and innovative book, from one of the leading contemporary experts on Marx s thought, gives us a fresh overview of his ideas by framing them within concepts that remain topical and alive today, from class struggle and progress to democracy and exploitation. Taking Marx s work in his pamphleteering, journalism, speeches, correspondence and published books as central to a renewed understanding of the man and his politics, both his life experience and our contemporary political engagements are brought vividly to life. It shows us the many ways that a 19th century thinker has been made into the Marx we know today, beginning with his own self-presentations at crucial moments in his career before moving on to the successive different Marxes that were later constructed: an icon of communist revolution, a demonic figure in the Cold War, a humanist philosopher, and a spectre haunting Occupy Wall Street. Carver s accessible and lively engagement with all of these Marxes unpacks the historical, intellectual and political difficulties that make him sometimes difficult to read and understand, while also highlighting the distinct areas where his lively and challenging writings speak very directly to the 21st century world. It will be essential reading for students and scholars throughout the social sciences, and anyone interested in the contemporary legacy of his revolutionary ideas.

Karl Marx was the first theorist of a truly global capitalism, and remains perhaps its most trenchant critic. This clear and innovative book, from one of the leading contemporary experts on Marx s thought, gives us a fresh overview of his ideas by framing them within concepts that remain topical and alive today, from class struggle and progress to democracy and exploitation. Taking Marx s work in his pamphleteering, journalism, speeches, correspondence and published books as central to a renewed understanding of the man and his politics, both his life experience and our contemporary political engagements are brought vividly to life. It shows us the many ways that a 19th century thinker has been made into the Marx we know today, beginning with his own self-presentations at crucial moments in his career before moving on to the successive different Marxes that were later constructed: an icon of communist revolution, a demonic figure in the Cold War, a humanist philosopher, and a spectre haunting Occupy Wall Street. Carver s accessible and lively engagement with all of these Marxes unpacks the historical, intellectual and political difficulties that make him sometimes difficult to read and understand, while also highlighting the distinct areas where his lively and challenging writings speak very directly to the 21st century world. It will be essential reading for students and scholars throughout the social sciences, and anyone interested in the contemporary legacy of his revolutionary ideas.