The Crisis of Socialism: Chapter 5 of Explaining Postmodernism
At the Explaining Postmodernism page, Chapter Five of my book is now available online. The chapter traces the evolution of socialism from classical Marxism in the mid-nineteenth century through the post-World War II crisis of socialism that helped set the stage for postmodernism.
Here are the chapter’s sections and page numbers:
Chapter Five: The Crisis of Socialism [pdf]
Marx and waiting for Godot 135
Three failed predictions 136
Socialism needs an aristocracy: Lenin, Mao, and the lesson
of the German Social Democrats 138
Good news for socialism: depression and war 141
Bad news: liberal capitalism rebounds 143
Worse news: Khrushchev’s revelations and Hungary 146
Responding to the crisis: change socialism’s ethical standard 150
From need to equality 151
From Wealth is good to Wealth is bad 153
Responding to the crisis: change socialism’s epistemology 156
Marcuse and the Frankfurt School: Marx plus Freud,
or oppression plus repression 159
The rise and fall of Left terrorism 167
From the collapse of the New Left to postmodernism 171
