This title offers a Marxist take on a selection of artistic and cultural achievements from the rap music of Tupac Shakur to the painting of Van Gogh, from HBO's Breaking Bad to Balzac's Cousin Bette , from the magical realm of Harry Potter to the apocalyptic landscape of The Walking Dead , from The Hunger Games to Game of Thrones .

Marxism has provided the ideological impetus to liberation movements, radical struggles and revolutions across the world. But in the 20th century, the emancipatory and democratic power of its thought has often been distorted and overridden by various Stalinist dictatorships which claimed to be acting in its name. A similar undermining of freedom of thought has been accomplished at an intellectual level; various schools have transformed Marxist thought in line with some of the most fashionable but gentrified forms of contemporary philosophy, shifting the focus from the democratic power of the masses and their ability to challenge the capitalist order to concentrate on superstar thinkers and elite theories. The War Against Marxism traces the war against Marxism which, paradoxically, has been conducted in the name of Marxism itself. As such it provides a fiery philosophical and polemical indictment of so-called ‘Marxists’ such as Adorno, Horkheimer, Althusser, Jameson, Eagleton, Mouffe, Laclau and Zizek and asks what can be done to stem this counterrevolution.

A Marxist analysis of key political and historical figures including Hugo Chavez and Jeremy Corbyn, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Angels and Demons offers a series of profiles of historical figures both old and new. Using a Marxist analysis, the author adduces the particularities of each individual personality from the crest of living history which brings it to the fore, showing with each of the figures examined how the art, politics and creativity of their lives is infused by the rhythm and contradictions of the broader historical backdrop. The angels in the collection are Hugo Chavez, Andrea Dworkin, Rembrandt, Victor Hugo, Jeremy Corbyn and William Blake. The demons are Donald Trump, Christopher Hitchens, Arthur Schopenhauer and Hillary Clinton.

Marxism has provided the ideological impetus to liberation movements, radical struggles and revolutions across the world. But in the 20th century, the emancipatory and democratic power of its thought has often been distorted and overridden by various Stalinist dictatorships which claimed to be acting in its name. A similar undermining of freedom of thought has been accomplished at an intellectual level; various schools have transformed Marxist thought in line with some of the most fashionable but gentrified forms of contemporary philosophy, shifting the focus from the democratic power of the masses and their ability to challenge the capitalist order to concentrate on superstar thinkers and elite theories. The War Against Marxism traces the war against Marxism which, paradoxically, has been conducted in the name of Marxism itself. As such it provides a fiery philosophical and polemical indictment of so-called ‘Marxists’ such as Adorno, Horkheimer, Althusser, Jameson, Eagleton, Mouffe, Laclau and Zizek and asks what can be done to stem this counterrevolution.

Woke social justice warriors lurk around every corner, ready to cancel free speakers and police common sense. Muslims love nothing better than abolishing Christmas. FemiNazi’s throw false accusations at the pillars of our society. Decried by right-wing pundits and politicians alike, the idea of ‘political correctness’ is often painted as a form of left-wing totalitarianism but in this pithy, clear-headed account, Tony McKenna explains how the concept itself is in fact one of the great conspiracy theories of our times. From the fear of ‘cancel culture’ to the demonization of grassroots social movements, this is a searing dissection of how the exclusionary agendas for so long played out in our media and party politics have been successfully dressed up as campaigns for freedom and common sense. Tackling some of the favourite bogeymen of tabloids and scaremongers, McKenna dissects the language, rhetoric and ideology that turns refugees into insects, social justice into ‘wokery’, and makes predators out of anyone from dark skinned men to trans women. He provides a full analysis of historically important social liberation movements like BLM and #MeToo, giving the historical and cultural contexts for their emergence. As the tried-and-tested politics of stigmatization and exclusion shift from old targets to new, this an explanation of one of society’s most insidious narratives, and how it allows dominant orthodox culture to cast the subjects of its oppressive tactics as the dreaded ‘global liberal elite’.

Woke social justice warriors lurk around every corner, ready to cancel free speakers and police common sense. Muslims love nothing better than abolishing Christmas. FemiNazi’s throw false accusations at the pillars of our society. Decried by right-wing pundits and politicians alike, the idea of ‘political correctness’ is often painted as a form of left-wing totalitarianism but in this pithy, clear-headed account, Tony McKenna explains how the concept itself is in fact one of the great conspiracy theories of our times. From the fear of ‘cancel culture’ to the demonization of grassroots social movements, this is a searing dissection of how the exclusionary agendas for so long played out in our media and party politics have been successfully dressed up as campaigns for freedom and common sense. Tackling some of the favourite bogeymen of tabloids and scaremongers, McKenna dissects the language, rhetoric and ideology that turns refugees into insects, social justice into ‘wokery’, and makes predators out of anyone from dark skinned men to trans women. He provides a full analysis of historically important social liberation movements like BLM and #MeToo, giving the historical and cultural contexts for their emergence. As the tried-and-tested politics of stigmatization and exclusion shift from old targets to new, this an explanation of one of society’s most insidious narratives, and how it allows dominant orthodox culture to cast the subjects of its oppressive tactics as the dreaded ‘global liberal elite’.