Making history : agency, structure, and change in social theory / by Alex Callinicos.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Callinicos, Alex.

Series:

Historical materialism book series 1570-1522 ; 3.

Historical materialism book series, 1570-1522 ; 3

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Agent (Philosophy).

Act (Philosophy).

Structuralism.

Historical materialism.

Revolutions--Philosophy.

Revolutions.

Marx, Karl, 1818-1883.

Marx, Karl.

Physical Description:

liii, 287 pages ; 25 cm.

Edition:

Second revised edition.

Place of Publication:

Leiden ; Boston : Brill, 2004.

Summary:

Making History seeks systematically to address the problem, widely discussed by social scientists and historians, of the relative roles played by social structures and human agency in social change. Alex Callinicos has added an introduction to this new edition updating the argument of this influential book first published in 1987.

Contents:

Chapter 1 Subjects and Agents 1

1.1 Three concepts of agency 1

1.2 The orthodox conception of agents 5

1.3 Human nature: the need for a philosophical anthropology 17

1.4 Human nature: morality, justice and virtue 25

1.5 Practical reason and social structures 33

Chapter 2 Structure and Action 38

2.1 The concept of social structure 38

2.2 The basic concepts of historical materialism 40

2.3 Orthodox historical materialism 54

2.4 Rational-choice marxism 69

2.5 Structural capacities and human action 85

2.6 What's left of historical materialism? 102

Chapter 3 Reasons and Interests 107

3.1 Expressivism and the hermeneutic tradition 107

3.2 Interpretation and social theory 111

3.3 Charity, truth and community 119

3.4 The utilitarian theory of action 129

3.5 Interests and powers 139

Chapter 4 Ideology and Power 152

4.1 Collective agents 152

4.2 Falsehood and ideology 156

4.4 Nation, state and military power 179

4.5 A note on base and superstructure 199

Chapter 5 Tradition and Revolution 206

5.1 Revolution as redemption: Benjamin and Sartre 206

5.2. Marxism and the proletariat 213

5.3 The rationality of revolution 225

5.4 Revolution and repetition 239

5.5 The tradition of the oppressed 254.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9004136274

OCLC:

54499878