ENGELS'S SECOND THEORY: Technology, Warfare and the Growth of the State

Streeck examines Friedrich Engels' Second Theory with regard to technology, warfare, and the growth of the state. Engels spent his working life in the shadow of Karl Marx, a position he now occupies for posterity, and one in which he willingly placed himself. Among the German philosophizing cla...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:New Left review 2020-05 (123), p.75
Main Author: Streeck, Wolfgang
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Marxism
Marxist analysis
Positivism
Technology
War
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Streeck examines Friedrich Engels' Second Theory with regard to technology, warfare, and the growth of the state. Engels spent his working life in the shadow of Karl Marx, a position he now occupies for posterity, and one in which he willingly placed himself. Among the German philosophizing classes of the time, the type of speculative thinking at which Marx excelled was considered the highest form of scientific endeavour; Engels, who shared this outlook, may have seen his own contribution, grounded in positivism, as pedestrian by comparison. In the collaboration with Marx, he understood his role to be that of editor, reader, publisher, translator, publicist and hence also popularizer of Marxian (not Marxist-Engelsian) theory, making it comprehensible to the socialist movement for which it was intended.
ISSN:0028-6060
2044-0480