Three highly recommended books in the Democratic Marxism series: Marxisms in the 21st Century, Capitalism’s Crises, and The Climate Crisis.

I have just finished reading the third volume in the excellent Democratic Marxism series published by Wits University Press in South Africa. I was very impressed with the first two, and in my view the third, on The Climate Crisis, is the best so far. Vishwas Satgar surely deserves the Distinguished Achievement Award he received from the World Association for Political Economy for initiating and editing this series.

Each volume contains insightful and often controversial essays by leading Marxist scholars and activists from around the world. As the contents list (see below) shows, they cover a wide range of topics, with a particular focus on socialist and ecological issues in the global south. You won’t agree with all the contributions, but that’s exactly why you should read them. Highly recommended for ecosocialists everywhere!

(I have linked to the publisher’s page for each volume, but they are also available through major book dealers, and of course you should encourage your library to order them)

Ian Angus

Volume 1

MARXISMS IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Crisis, Critique and Struggle

Marxism and Democracy: liberal, vanguard or direct?

Michelle Williams

Michelle Williams Marxism after Polyani

Michael Burawoy

Michael Burawoy Transnationalising Gramscian Marxism

Vishwas Satgar

Vishwas Satgar Notes on critique

Ahmed Veriava

Ahmed Veriava Marxism and Feminism: ‘Unhappy Marriage’ or creative partnership?

Jacklyn Cock and Meg Luxton

Jacklyn Cock and Meg Luxton Marx and the eco-logic of fossil capitalism

Devan Pillay

Devan Pillay Retrospect: Seven theses about Africa’s Marxist regimes

Daryl Glaser

Daryl Glaser Socialism and southern Africa

John S. Saul

John S. Saul Uneven and combined Marxism within South Africa’s urban social movements

Patrick Bond, Ashwin Desai and Trevor Ngwane

Patrick Bond, Ashwin Desai and Trevor Ngwane Critical reflections on the crisis and limits of ANC ‘Marxism’

Mazibuko Jara

Volume 2

CAPITALISM’S CRISES

Class Struggles in South Africa and the World

From Marx to the Systemic Crises of Capitalist Civilisation

Vishwas Satgar

Vishwas Satgar Activist Understandings of the Crisis of 2008

William K. Carroll

William K. Carroll Occupy and the Dialectics of the Left in the United States

Leah-Hunt Hendrix and Isham Christie

Leah-Hunt Hendrix and Isham Christie Austerity and Resistance: The Politics of Labour in the Eurozone Crisis

Andreas Bieler and Jamie Jordan

Andreas Bieler and Jamie Jordan Beyond Social Democratic and Communist Parties: Left Political Organisation in Transition in Western Europe

Hilary Wainwright

Hilary Wainwright Brazil: From Neoliberal Democracy to the End of the ‘Lula Moment’

Alfredo Saad Filho

Alfredo Saad Filho The Global Financial Crisis and ‘Resilience’: The Case of India

Sumangala Damodaran

Sumangala Damodaran Real Wage Trends and the Labour Crisis in South Africa

Niall Reddy

Niall Reddy Seize Power! The Role of the Constitution in Unifying Social Justice Struggles in South Africa

Mark Heywood

Volume 3

THE CLIMATE CRISIS:

South African and Global Democratic Eco-Socialist Alternatives