Marxism, Post-Marxism and the Implosion of Communism

In: Praxis international: a philosophical journal, Band 10, Heft 3-4, S. 205-212

Abstract

In an attempt to understand revisionist Marxism & its relationship to current Soviet politics, the theoretical boundaries of authentic Marxism, revisionist, & post-Marxism are discussed & the evolution of communist ideology is traced, including socialist realism, real socialism, & perestroika (restructuring) of socialism. A theory of communist statism based on the structural control exercised by a statist ruling class over the state that is able to control the economy & other areas of culture is elaborated, concluding that Karl Marx's economic model fails in its attempt to explain communist statism as a sociopolitical formation; however, he is helpful in understanding the outcome of the struggle between capitalism & communism. W. Howard