Background
Wright, Erik Olin was born on February 9, 1947 in Berkeley, California, United States. Son of Martin Erik and Beatrice Ann (Posner) Wright.
(This lively new collection from one of America’s leading ...)
This lively new collection from one of America’s leading sociologists covers a wide range of theoretical problems of interest to radical social scientists and political activists. The book opens with a fascinating autobiographical essay exploring the challenges and benefits of being a Marxist scholar in the present era. Following this is a discussion of various issues in class analysis, with particular attention being paid to two overarching themes: class and inequality, and the relationship between class and power. The second section of the book engages the problem of socialism as a possible future to capitalism. Wright attempts to clarify the conceptual status of socialism, and discusses why certain reforms such as basic income grants may ultimately require the introduction of some form of socialism for their full realization. Interrogating Inequality concludes by examining the general problem of Marxism as a tradition of radical social theory. Three issues in particular are discussed: the central principles of “analytical Marxism” as a strategy for reconstructing Marxism as a social scientific theory; the relationship between Marxism and feminism as emancipatory social theories; and the prospects for Marxism in the aftermath of the collapse of communist regimes.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0860916332/?tag=2022091-20
(Reconstructing Marxism explores fundamental questions abo...)
Reconstructing Marxism explores fundamental questions about the structure of Marxist theory and its prospects for the future. The authors maintain that the disintegration of the old theoretical unity of classical Marxism is in part responsible for what is commonly called the “crisis of Marxism.” Only a reconstructed Marxism can come to terms with this disintegration. Addressing a range of problems in historical materialism and class analysis, the authors compare historical materialism with Darwinian evolutionary theory, and identify what is distinctively “historical” in Marx’s theory of history. Through an evaluation of G.A. Cohen’s defense and Anthony Giddens’s critique of historical materialism they suggest what a plausible, yet still Marxist, theory of history might be. They analyze the relationship of micro-analysis to macro theory and the assignment of causal primacy in explanations, and present a general assessment of the current state of Marxist theory and the prospects for its analytical reconstruction. Distinguished by the clarity of its presentation, the analytical rigor of its argument and its concern with fundamental philosophical and sociological issues, Reconstructing Marxism advances, at this critical juncture in the history of Marxism, a challenging new research program.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0860915549/?tag=2022091-20
(One of the major works of the new American Marxism, Wrigh...)
One of the major works of the new American Marxism, Wright’s book draws a challenging new class map of the United States and other, comparable, advanced capitalist countries today. It also discusses the various classical theories of economic crisis in the West and their relevance to the current recession, and contrasts the way in which the major political problem of bureaucracy was confronted by two great antagonists—Weber and Lenin. A concluding essay brings together the practical lessons of these theoretical analyses, in an examination of the problems of left governments coming to power in capitalist states.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0902308939/?tag=2022091-20
Wright, Erik Olin was born on February 9, 1947 in Berkeley, California, United States. Son of Martin Erik and Beatrice Ann (Posner) Wright.
Bachelor summa cum laude, Harvard University, 1968; Bachelor with 1st class honours, Oxford (England) University, 1970; Doctor of Philosophy, University of California, Berkeley, 1976.
Assistant professor sociology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1976-1980; associate professor, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1980-1983; professor, University of Wisconsin, Madison, since 1983; C. Wright Mills. professor, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1990; director Havens Center for Study Social Structure-Social Change, University of Wisconsin, Madison, since 1985. Visiting professor University of California, 1987-1988.
(One of the major works of the new American Marxism, Wrigh...)
(This lively new collection from one of America’s leading ...)
(Reconstructing Marxism explores fundamental questions abo...)
(HB book)
Member American Sociological Association M C.
Married Marcia Kahn, March 28,1971. Children: Jennifer Beatrice, Rebecca Sonia.