John F. Sitton Books

Focusing on class formation and social conflict within contemporary capitalism, this book examines key debates surrounding historical agency and class structure. It delves into the insights of influential thinkers like Claus Offe, Jurgen Habermas, and Immanuel Wallerstein, presenting their provocative arguments. The author concludes that while contemporary capitalism may not foster a revolutionary proletariat, class relations remain crucial for understanding capitalism's historical trajectory and the challenges it faces, albeit in ways that diverge from Marx's original vision.

One of the most striking and neglected arguments of Marx's political theory is that the state will be transcended or wither away with the development of communism. This work reconstructs Marx's thesis through a comprehensive analysis of various discussions by Marx from his early critique of Hegel through his mature work. The author concludes that the plausibility of the thesis crucially depends upon the specific institutional forms of the transitional state and the possibilities for transforming the social division of labor.