22nd Mar, 2019

Beyond Liberal Egalitarianism: Marx and Normative Social Theory in the Twenty-First Century

Tony Smith

• $28 / £24.99 • 9781608469970 • 386 Pages

Historical Materialism, new in paperback catalogue: https://we.tl/t-DNvshoI187

An original and convincing political and philosophical argument that capitalism—even when highly regulated—will always breed massive inequality

Progressive theorists and activists insist that contemporary capitalism is deeply flawed from a normative point of view. However, most accept the liberal egalitarian thesis that the serious shortcomings of market societies (financial excess, inequality, and so on) could be overcome with proper political regulation. Building on Marx's legacy, Tony Smith argues in Beyond Liberal Egalitarianism that advocates of this thesis (Rawls, Habermas, Stiglitz, et al.) lack an adequate concept of capital and the state. These theorists also fail to comprehend new developments in world history ensuring that the 'destructive' aspects of capitalism increasingly outweigh whatever 'creative' elements it might continue to possess. Smith concludes that a normative social theory adequate to the twenty-first century must explicitly and unequivocally embrace socialism.

Customers in North America can order the book direct from Haymarket’s website at a 30% discount, with free postage: https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/1190-beyond-liberal-egalitarianism

We encourage customers elsewhere to order through independent bookstores where possible, particularly the Alliance of Radical Booksellers in the UK: http://www.radicalbooksellers.co.uk/  

Tony Smith, Ph.D. State University of New York at Stony Brook (1980), is Professor of Philosophy at Iowa State University. Professor Smith’s books include The Logic of Marx’s Capital (SUNY, 1990), Technology and Capital (SUNY, 2000) and Globalisation (Haymarket, 2009).

For publicity requests or any other queries, contact uk@haymarketbooks.org (Europe) or john@haymarketbooks.org (US, rest of world).