The Frankfurt School vs. Marxism: The Political and Intellectual Odyssey of Alex Steiner

A three-part essay by Dav id North, October 2008

This essay examines the political and theoretical origins of attacks against the International Committee of the Fourth International by Alex Steiner and Frank Brenner, two former members of the Workers League (predecessor of the Socialist Equality Party), left the revolutionary socialist movement in the late 1970s.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Download the full essay in PDF

Marxism and Science: An addendum to “The Frankfurt School vs. Marxism”

By Ann Talbot and Chris Talbot, 28 October 2008

This essay, written as a supplement to David North’s “The Frankfurt School vs. Marxism: The Political and Intellectual Odyssey of Alex Steiner,” examines Alex Steiner’s idealist approach to science.

Marxism, History and Socialist Consciousness

By David North

This polemical essay defends the foundations of scientific socialism against pseudo-Marxist conceptions influenced by the Frankfurt School and contemporary neo-utopianism. Among the topics covered are the significance of the philosophies of postmodernism and pragmatism, the implications of modern irrationalism's assault on the heritage of the Enlightenment, and the critical role of a historically-directed consciousness in the cognition and understanding of objective political reality. David North also offers perceptive evaluations of the works of such representative figures of neo-utopianism as Ernst Bloch, Hendrik de Man, and Wilhelm Reich.

The WSWS serialized this work, which can also be purchased online from Mehring Books.
Foreword
Parts 1-3
Parts 4-7
Parts 8-10
Parts 11-13
Parts 14-16
Parts 17-19
Parts 20-22