GV4G7      Half Unit
Marx and Marxism

This information is for the 2024/25 session.

Teacher responsible

Prof Lea Ypi

Availability

This course is available on the MA in Modern History and MSc in Political Theory. This course is available as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.

This course is capped at 2 groups.

Course content

This course will try to develop an analysis of what we might call ‘moral socialism’ by engaging with authors who have developed the links between the thought of Kant and Marx and with one of the lesser known developments of Marxism in the 20th century: the Austro-Marxist school of thought. Together the group of thinkers associated to the Austro-Marxist movement provided one of the most original developments of Marx’s theory by trying to combine aspects of Kant’s moral philosophy with Karl Marx’s critique of society. We will start with introductory sessions on the relationship between Kant and Marx and the historical context of Austro-Marxism. We will then each week explore different themes relevant to Austro-Marxist thought: from Max Adler’s analysis of the social a priori to Otto Bauer’s discussion of the nationalities problem, from Karl Renner’s analysis of legal institutions to Rudolf Hilferding’s analyis of finance capital. We will also cover the thought of Friedrich Adler and Otto Neurath and engage with criticisms of their theories by contrasting them with alternative Marxist analyses developed at the same time such as those of Lukacs, Lenin or Rosa Luxemburg. The focus throughout will be on understanding and assessing the Austro-Marxist’s complex arguments. The course should be of interest to MSc students taking existing courses on liberalism and justice but also to students in Law, IR, Sociology, and International History.

Teaching

This course is delivered through a combination of seminars and lectures totalling a minimum of 20 hours in the Autumn Term. This course includes a reading week in AT Week 6.

Formative coursework

One formative essay of around 2,000 words.

Indicative reading

Bottomore, Tom, and Patrick Goode. Austro-Marxism. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1978.

Rabinbach, Anson. The Austrian Socialist Experiment: Social Democracy and Austromarxism,1918-1934. Boulder: Westview Press, 1985.

Blum, Mark E., and Smaldone, William (eds.) Austro-Marxism: The Ideology of Unity. Leiden: Brill, 2016.

Assessment

Essay (100%, 4000 words).

Key facts

Department: Government

Total students 2023/24: 26

Average class size 2023/24: 14

Controlled access 2023/24: Yes

Value: Half Unit

Guidelines for interpreting course guide information

Course selection videos

Some departments have produced short videos to introduce their courses. Please refer to the course selection videos index page for further information.

Personal development skills

  • Problem solving
  • Communication