A few years ago millions of Americans voted for “change”—but instead so far we have more of the same: more war, more economic hardship, more ecological destruction. All this raises the urgent question: is real change possible and if so how?
Marxists are variously accused of being hopeless utopians or mechanical determinists, but the ideas laid out by Marx and Engels are neither. Historical materialism, their understanding of the way human society changes, remains an incredibly relevant framework not only for understanding the world, but for changing it.
In The German Ideology, Marx and Engels discuss the role of ideas in relation to the material world, the way in which human society has transformed along with the development of the forces of production, and why they came to see the working class as a revolutionary force capable of overthrowing capitalism and founding a socialist society.
Join us to unpack and discuss these crucial ideas, their historical context, and the relevance for our work today!
You can still join us if youv'e not read the The German Ideology -- check out this short introductory article by Phil Gasper, The Classics of Marxism: The German Ideology
http://www.isreview.org/issues/33/germanideology.shtml
http://www.isreview.org/issues/33/germanideology.shtml
