What has Sociological Marxism ever done for us?

Within the agenda of historical materialist theory and practice Sociological Marxism has delivered a compelling perspective on how to explore and link the analysis of civil society, the state, and the economy within an explicit focus on class exploitation, emancipation, and rich ethnography. This workshop is arranged with Erik Olin Wright to discuss and question what Sociological Marxism has ever done for us in tracking the class practices that shape the reproduction of capitalism.

The workshop is open to any participant and centred, initially, around a conversation between Erik Olin Wright (as one of the central authors contributing to Sociological Marxism) and Adam David Morton (who has written a recent critique of Sociological Marxism and its state theory).

In preparation, participants are encouraged to read the following two materials in order to contribute to the discussion. These are:

Adam Morton’s article ‘The Limits of Sociological Marxism’, published in Historical Materialism in 2013; and

Erik Olin Wright’s short rejoinder (3,000) that will be circulated to all those willing to join the conversation.

Participants should contact Adam David Morton (Email: Adam.Morton@sydney.edu.au) to receive a copy of both the above essays before the event. So, please RSVP to confirm numbers.

Venue: Darlington Centre Boardroom

Date: Monday 17 August 2:00 – 4:00 pm

EOWsocmarx

Author: Adam David Morton

Adam David Morton is Professor of Political Economy at the University of Sydney. He is author of Unravelling Gramsci: Hegemony and Passive Revolution in the Global Political Economy (2007); Revolution and State in Modern Mexico: The Political Economy of Uneven Development (2011), recipient of the 2012 Book Prize of the British International Studies Association (BISA) International Political Economy Group (IPEG); and co-author of Global Capitalism, Global War, Global Crisis (2018) with Andreas Bieler. The volume Henri Lefebvre, From the Rural: Economy, Sociology, Geography is out in 2022 with University of Minnesota Press, co-edited with Stuart Elden.

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