These essays by Paul Mattick were written during periods of radical activity and address themes still critical for us today—the devastation of war-torn areas and the abject destitution to which beleaguered populations are subjected, the authoritarian character of ostensibly democratic regimes, the ecological disasters that increasingly beset the world, the rationale behind and limits to governmental efforts to stimulate and stabilize the economy, and Mattick’s assessment of economic theorizing within the marxian tradition. The essays combine contemporary commentary with theoretical analysis and represent some of the finest work Mattick produced.
Gary Roth is the author of The Educated Underclass: Students and the Promise of Social Mobility (Pluto Press, 2019), and Marxism in a Lost Century: A Biography of Paul Mattick (Brill/Haymarket, 2015).
This book is especially relevant for readers interested in and involved with contemporary social problems. Themes include war and destruction, government intervention into politics and the economy, ecology, marxism and economic theory.