Marxism – only theoretical, no meal

The Berlin Brumaire publishing house is still relatively young and above all up-and-coming. With excellent relationships in the Anglo -American world, he is the journalistic home of the magazines “Jacobin” and the recently founded left -wing business magazine “Surplus”. Now a 36 volumes of introductory series under the “Edition Marxisms” label appears there, all written by Ingar Solty. From January of this year, the edition plan provides for a publication, not thematically arranged, but according to theoretician: A band for Engels, as well as Clara Zetkin, Eduard Bernstein, Trotsky and Otto Bauer and Mao. The ambitious edition plan is available online, there is also the possibility of subscription.

However, fundamental questions arise when this undertaking is announced: are there not enough-also good-Marx introductions? Why does access not take place via specific memorial and theoretical relationships, but classically about the individual and their thinking? From what perspective and with what intention does Solty write? At least some of these questions can be answered and evaluated with the appearance of the first two volumes of the “Edition Marxisms”. The reading of »Karl Marx leaves. For the introduction: I. Philosophy of Practice «and» II. A political economy of freedom “first of all the impression of a lively publishing business: The whole knowledge of Marxism is nicely portioned into three dozen volumes, the income should be correspondingly high, the whole thing is advertised professionally in the media. A specially created »author portrait« is at the end of every band. Unfortunately, the reader experiences nothing about how to choose the topic – only the initial hope of the author of being able to offer a use value for (young) Marxists and those who want to become one. It goes without saying that Marx then starts here.

Large author centering

At the beginning of the first volume, Solty is devoted to the question “How and why does someone still come to Marx and the Marxisms today?” The author speaks of Marxism, Marxisms, Communism and Socialism – there is no space for necessary differentiation, but their necessity is emphasized. Because the current crisis of our capitalist conditions, outlined by Solty in six dimensions, urgently need to find way out and solutions. And yes: Marx ‘work and Marxist analyzes, considerations and goals are the right basis in their universality, offer good material. In his opinion, Solty formulates the important knowledge against this background. The bottom line: We humans are social beings and no historical development is imperative, accordingly everything can be changed. Solty explains the workers about the historical subject.

Nd.Diewoche – Our weekly newsletter

With our weekly newsletter . We’re Doing Look at the most important topics of the week and read them Highlights our Saturday edition on Friday. Get the free subscription here.

The next section of the book deals with Marx. However, anyone who had hoped for a detailed representation of Marx ‘living conditions or his thinking process and theoretical development will be disappointed. Neither in the first nor in the second volume there is a reference to biographical literature. Instead, Marx is primarily presented on the basis of the author’s own assessments and through quotes from third parties, such as Bertolt Brecht. You always encounter references and quotes from Marx’s works without being able to understand a deeper connection or development. Many well -known texts such as the “German ideology” are quoted without pointing out their problem – although this text should be enjoyed with caution, for example.

The goal of sketching Marx ‘thinking is not achieved. Instead of a stringent representation, there is a series of settlements, which are very simplified and shortened by the limited extent. This affects both the historical references and developments of Marx and the real social conditions of capitalism. The text often leaves important relationships or reduces it so much that they are more likely to be confusing than clarify. Marx ‘main work, the “capital”, is only grossly treated on a rough way. Why it was never completed remains unanswered, and the extensive research literature is also not mentioned. In the representation of Marx ‘thinking and its relevance against “today’s representative of idealistic ways of thinking such as those of radical postmodernism” also appears such as “Postmodern left -wing nietzscheanism” – apart from a reference to Jan Rehmann, the concept and the whole discussion are not further classified or explained.

Unexplained categories

Most of the second volume Solty devotes to the attempt to outline a free order beyond the capitalist constraints. As from nowhere, critical psychology according to Klaus Holzkamp appears right from the start, but it remains unclear where this current comes from, where it differs from a bourgeois psychology, why it is required. The criticism of capitalism developed in the second volume seems too well -known and as in the first book there are imprecise concepts, indistinct and enormously shortened representations of historical processes and concepts.

The problem of Soltys Marx reading and presentation is shown in a specific example. So he writes “the material basis of a society and not, as in philosophical idealism, the ideas that a society makes of itself should be taken into account”. As a reason, Solty states that Marx wrote in a letter to Ludwig Kugelmann in a letter to Ludwig Kugelmann a year after the publication of his main work was published, “that every nation would die who (…) hired work for a few weeks”. This passage represents Solty as a central insight of Marx ‘materialism. If you read the letter completely and in the context, you cannot avoid determining: Marx criticizes that this is analytically not obtained if the social forms are not asked in which the division of labor is established – goods, money and capital. The “material basis”, which Solty presents as a materialistic insight, is therefore a triviality and nothing that Marx ‘materialistic approach is in contrast to an idealistic perspective. His question is why in capitalism the work -producing work must accept the value forms of money and capital, something, Marx continued in the letter mentioned, which Ricardo is simply »as given assumes «.

Solty often fails to do an important relationship or reduces it so much that they are more confusing than clarifying.

In addition to the already named content defects, there are various repetitions and monotonous formulations in both volumes. The bibliography leads partly to the title that has not been used in the book. Even available German -language editions of English -language titles are not taken into account. The two volumes cannot be convinced as introductions – they are too little stringent, that is too precise, what is shown is that nothing can be found in the person Marx, instead the reader is thrown into one “theoretical” after another. If you have no idea about the topic, you will not get a guide here. Little is also offered for further employment.

Feature or bug?

What you learn instead: how the author, i.e. Solty himself, reads Marx and what access he represents on his theory. However, this is not clearly communicated. Only if you know Solty’s way – he is grandchildren of the Marburg School – and understands his Marxist socialization, does the conception of the two volumes available become clear: No introduction to Marx, but Marx read by Solty as the legacy of the Marburger. For the declared general intention of the “introduction” this is also too lean and does not do justice to the complexity of the debates and the state of knowledge.

It remains to be hoped that the following volumes are better off and that the defects shown here are not a feature of the “Edition Marxisms”, but a bug, otherwise energy and chapter are simply wasted here. The original deficiency in the matter is named correctly by Solty: Fresh literature is urgently needed for Marxist thinking – because the multiple crisis of our time is pussy, and knowledge in connection is bitter.

Ingar Solty: Edition Marxisms. Two hundred years of systemic criticism for systematic world improvers. Edition Brumaire 2025, single band of € 9, subscription 90 €.