[Book] The Revolutionary philosophy of Marxism

On the bicentennial of his birth, Karl Marx's ideas are more relevant than ever. While he is perhaps best known for his writings on economics and history, anyone who wishes to have a fully rounded understanding of his method must strive to master dialectical materialism, which itself resulted from an assiduous study and critique oif Hegel.

Dialectical materialism is the logic of motion, development, and change. By embracing contradiction instead of trying to write it out of reality, dialectics allows Marxists to approach processes as they really are, not as we would like them to be. In this way we can understand and explain the essential class interests at stake in our fight against capitalist exploitation and oppression. At every decisive turning point in history, scientific socialists must go back to basics. Marxist theory represents the synthesized experience, historical memory, and guide to action of the working class. This new selection of writing on Marxist philosophy aims to arm the new generation of revolutionary socialists with these essential ideas.

Table of Contents

Editor’s Foreword  (by John Peterson)

Introduction (by Alan Woods)

I. Genesis and Origins

• Theses on Feuerbach (by Karl Marx)
• Marx’s Revolution in Philosophy: Reflections on the Theses on Feuerbach (by Alan Woods)
• The Three Sources and Three Component Parts of Marxism (Excerpt) (by V.I. Lenin)
• Ludwig Feuerbach and the End of Classical German Philosophy (by Friedrich Engels)
• Fundamental Problems of Marxism (Excerpts) (by Georgi Plekhanov)

II. Dialectics

• Anti-Dühring (Excerpts) (by Friedrich Engels)
• Dialectics of Nature (Excerpts) (by Friedrich Engels)
• Critique of Hegel’s Dialectic and Philosophy as a Whole (by Karl Marx)
• Philosophical Notebooks (Excerpts) (by V.I. Lenin)
• Trotsky’s Notebooks: Excerpts on Lenin, Dialectics, and Evolutionism (by Leon Trotsky)

III. Materialism vs idealism

• England and Materialist Philosophy (by Karl Marx)
• The German Ideology (Excerpts) (by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels)
• Materialism and Empiriocriticism: Critical Comments on a Reactionary Philosophy (by V.I. Lenin)

IV. The Class Struggle, Party Building, and the Socialist Transition

• Reform or Revolution (by Rosa Luxemburg)
• History of the Russian Revolution to Brest-Litovsk (by Leon Trotsky)
• In Defense of Marxism (Excerpts) (by Leon Trotsky)
• The Class, the Party, and the Leadership (by Leon Trotsky)
• Dialectical Materialism and Science (by Leon Trotsky)
• Radio, Science, Technique,and Society (by Leon Trotsky)