Democracy Against Capitalism: Renewing Historical Materialism

by Ellen Meiksins Wood

Overview

Historian and political thinker Ellen Meiksins Wood argues that theories of “postmodern” fragmentation, “difference,” and con-tingency can barely accommodate the idea of capitalism, let alone subject it to critique. In this book she sets out to renew the critical program of historical materialism by redefining its basic concepts and its theory of history in original and imaginative ways, using them to identify the specificity of capitalism as a system of social relations and political power. She goes on to explore the concept of democracy in both the ancient and modern world, examining its relation to capitalism, and raising questions about how democracy might go beyond the limits imposed on it.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781784782443
Publisher:	Verso Books
Publication date:	02/02/2016
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.70(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Ellen Meiksins Wood, for many years Professor of Political Science at York University, Toronto, is the au-thor of many books, including The Pristine Culture of Capitalism, The Origin of Capitalism, Peasant–Citizen and Slave, Citizens to Lords, Empire of Capital and Liberty and Property.

Table of Contents

Introduction;

Part I. Historical Materialism and the Specificity of Capitalism:

1. The separation of the 'economic' and 'political' in capitalism;
2. Rethinking base and superstructure;
3. Class as process and relationship;
4. History or technological determinism?;
5. History or teleology? Marx v. Weber;

Part II. Democracy against Capitalism:
6. Labour and democracy, ancient and modern;
7. The demos v. 'we, the people': from ancient to modern conceptions of citizenship;
8. Civil society and the politics of identity;
9. Capitalism and human emancipation: race, gender and democracy; Conclusion.

Editorial Reviews

Reading a Wood essay is a shock to the system, demanding the reader take a position, often leaving you invigorated and slightly bruised in the process.”
—Michael Watson, Red Pepper

From the Publisher