Marxism After Marx, 4th Edition

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David McLellan is always good for solid, well-researched books on Marxist thought, and this celebrated introductory overview is no exception. In "Marxism After Marx", McLellan surveys the development of Marxist thought since the death of Marx himsel. It is arranged on a chapter-by-chapter basis where each chapter consists of a short introductory text on a given movement or school of thought, followed by an extensive bibliography. Indeed the bibliographical appendices in this book are perhaps the best thing about it, as they are very thorough, very up-to-date, and very well-chosen.McLellan does his best, as might be expected, to give a fair and objective overview of each of the given movements and ideas in the Marxist tradition so far, although he obviously has his own views which sometimes shine through (the general tendency is rather anti-Leninist). His range is very broad, from the theoretical disputes between Trotsky, Stalin and Bukharin to Existentialist Marxism and Liberation Theology. Nonetheless, it must be noted that he stays within the range of political philosophy and theory; modern Marxist economics is not significantly included, except in the form of a few references to people like Baran, Brenner, and Roemer. The bibliographies occasionally contain more on this, including some works by Ben Fine.This book is eminently suited for people who are wondering what 20th Century Marxism actually was about, as well as those who have a basic idea but are looking for books to expand their knowledge on more specific topics. McLellan's own commentary and selection is solid and trustworthy, making this book a great resource.

I have enjoyed this book more than I have enjoyed any book in years. It covers a lot of ground and is an eye opener for the many directions that Marxist thought has taken.However the style of writing at times impenetrable. It is written in the European academic style (as opposed to the American). This is a form that does not value accessibility or brevity. Furthermore, he adopts the terminology of each of the individual fields. The result is that the chapter of "Existential Marxism" will rely heavily on the jargon of existentialism, the chapter on "Structuralist Marxism" will rely heavily on the jargon of structuralism, etc. This is natural and is not unexpected, but it does place a burden on the reader to keep things clear, as terms do not necessarily mean the same thing as one shifts from one field to another.Nevertheless, it is definitely worth the effort to read, and I recommend it highly.

Readers will find this book a treasure trove of material embracingwhat happened to Marxian throught and practice after he died.

This book arrived in good condition in a timely manner. It's a great book that discusses many of the most prominent practitioners of Marxism. It was very useful for writing my paper on Economic Theories for my Sociology class. (I got an A by the way.)