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Show Berman, Marshall. Adventures in Marxism. London: Verso, 1999. Pp. xi+273. $22.00 (cloth). Book Notes 661 This book contains an introduction and thirteen short pieces previously published in such journals as the Nation, the New York Times Book Review, New Politics, and Dissent, dating from 1963 to 1998. Berman expresses Marx's vision as follows: (i) capitalism is a dynamic system involving continual change-"all that is solid melts into air"; (ii) it's a bad system because it produces alienation which prevents people from developing their potentialities; (iii) it is also a force for human progress because it unleashes the creative potentials of human beings collectively; (iv) finally, it gives people the understanding that makes it possible for them to end capitalism and alienation and use the dynamic force of the system for "the free development of all." This, however, mayor may not happen. It's up to people. Berman is optimistic about human nature but also realistic. His bible is The Communist Manifesto, in which he finds an exuberant account of human possibilities. His "adventures" in Marxism involve the use of this vision both in his direct discussion of Marx and in reflections on such thinkers as Meyer Schapiro, Walter Benjamin, George Lukacs, Isaac Babel, and Studs Terkel. The essays in this book are not heavily analytical or theoretical. They do not work out knotty issues in the clarification or defense of Marxism, but they express a vision of Marx which reveals the continuing power of his ideas. B. M. L. |
