New Realism, New Barbarism: Socialist Theory in the Era of Globalization (Recasting Marxism) Book

In this radical and controversial overview of the post-communist world, Boris Kagarlitsky argues that the very success of neo-liberal capitalism has made traditional socialism all the more necessary and feasible. Kagarlitsky argues that leftists exaggerate the importance of the â??objectiveâ?? aspects of the â??new realityâ?? â?? globalisation â?? and the weakening of the state, while underestimating the importance of the hegemony of neo-liberalism. As long as neo-liberalism retains its ideological hegemony, despite its economic failure, the consequence is a â??new barbarismâ?? â?? already a reality in Eastern Europe, and now also emerging in the West.Kagarlitsky challenges the political neurosis of the left and prevailing assumptions of Marxism to argue that Marxâ??s theories are now more timely than they were in the mid-twentieth century. He analyses theories of the â??end of the proletariatâ?? and the â??end of workâ??, and assesses the potential of the new technologies â?? such as the Internet â?? which create fresh challenges for capitalism and new arenas for struggle.Read More