SUNY series in Radical Social and Political Theory

Accessible introduction to key thinkers of Marxist theory and the debate on the nature of Marxist ethics. Marxism and Ethics is a comprehensive and highly readable introduction to the rich and complex history of Marxist ethical theory as it has evolved over the last century and a half. Paul Blackledge argues that Marx's ethics of freedom underpin his revolutionary critique of capitalism. Marx's conception of agency, he argues, is best understood through the lens of Hegel's synthesis of Kantian and Aristotelian ethical concepts. Marx's rejection of moralism is not, as suggested in crude materialist readings of his work, a dismissal of the free, purposive, subjective dimension of action. Freedom, for Marx, is both the essence and the goal of the socialist movement against alienation, and freedom's concrete modern form is the movement for real democracy against the capitalist separation of economics and politics. At the same time, Marxism and Ethics is also a distinctive contribution to, and critique of, contemporary political philosophy, one that fashions a powerful synthesis of the strongest elements of the Marxist tradition. Drawing on Alasdair MacIntyre's early contributions to British New Left debates on socialist humanism, Blackledge develops an alternative ethical theory for the Marxist tradition, one that avoids the inadequacies of approaches framed by Kant on the one hand and utilitarianism on the other. Paul Blackledge is Professor of Political Theory at Leeds Metropolitan University. He is the author of Perry Anderson, Marxism, and the New Left and Reflections on the Marxist Theory of History, and the coeditor (with Graeme Kirkpatrick) of Historical Materialism and Social Evolution.

Discusses the many facets of globalization and its feasible reform in easy-to-understand language. Is it possible to harness the benefits of economic globalization without sacrificing social equity, ecological sustainability, and democratic governance? The first edition of Civilizing Globalization (2003) explored this question at a time of widespread popular discontent. This fully revised and expanded edition comes at an equally crucial juncture. The period of relative stability and prosperity in the world economy that followed the release of the first edition ended abruptly in 2008 with a worldwide economic crisis that illustrated in dramatic fashion the enduring problems with our global order. Yet despite the gravity of the challenges, concrete initiatives for change remain insubstantial. Richard Sandbrook and Ali Burak Güven bring together international scholars and veteran activists to discuss in clear, nontechnical language the innovative political strategies, participatory institutional frameworks, and feasible regulatory designs capable of taming global markets so that they assume the role of useful servants rather than tyrannical masters. Richard Sandbrook is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Toronto. His many books include Social Democracy in the Global Periphery: Origins, Challenges, Prospects (coauthored with Marc Edelman, Patrick Heller, and Judith Teichman). Ali Burak Güven is Lecturer in International Relations and International Political Economy at Birkbeck, University of London.

Expanded new edition of a classic examination of the psychological roots of our ecological crisis. Personal in its style yet radical in its vision, Radical Eco psychology, Second Edition offers an original introduction to Eco psychology-an emerging field that ties the human mind to the natural world. In order for Eco psychology to be a force for social change, Andy Fisher insists it must become a more comprehensive and critical undertaking. Drawing masterfully from humanistic psychology, hermeneutics, phenomenology, radical ecology, nature writing, and critical theory, he develops a compelling account of how the human psyche still belongs to nature. This daring and innovative book proposes a psychology that will serve all life, providing a solid base not only for Eco psychological practice, but also for a critical theory of modern society. In this second edition, Fisher includes a new preface, a new section looking back at the development of the field since the book's initial publication a decade ago, and a look at the challenges that lie ahead. Andy Fisher is a psychotherapist in private practice.