Essays on Self-Criticism by Louis Althusser

Essays on Self-Criticism by Louis Althusser

Essays in Self-Criticism contains all of Louis Althusser's work from the 1970s. It is composed of three texts, each of which in a different way presents elements of self-criticism. The first is Althusser's extended reply to the English philosopher John Lewis. In it he for the first time discusses the problem of the political causes of Stalinism, which he argues should be seen as the consequence of a long tradition of economism within the Second and Third Internationals. The second major essay, written soon afterwards, sets out Althusser's critical assessment of his own philosophical work in the 60's, including the extent and limits of his 'flirtation' with structuralism. The book ends with an autobiographical study of Althusser's intellectual development from 1945 to 1975, given on the occasion of his reception of a doctorate at the University of Picardy.

The political thought of the 'new' Althusser is presented to English readers in a special introduction by his pupil Grahame Lock, which considers at length the lessons it sees in Soviet experience for contemporary communism.

Louis Althusser was born in Algeria in 1918 and died in France in 1990. He taught philosophy for many years at the Ecole Normale Superieur in Paris, and was a leading intellectual in the French Communist Party. His books include For Marx; Reading Capital (with Etienne Balibar); Essays in Ideology; Politics and History: Montesquieu, Rousseau, Marx; Machiavelli and Us; and The Spectre of Hegel.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781786632005
ISBN 10	1786632004
Title	Essays on Self-Criticism
Author	Louis Althusser
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Verso Books
Year published	2016-06-02
Number of pages	230
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.