Conrad Hamilton, Matt McManus (Eds.), Ben Burgis, Ernesto Vargas, Daniel Tutt (Preface)

Since the spectacular collapse of Sanders and Corbyn, the Western left has been thrown into a state of uncertainty. Should it continue to pursue a democratic socialist agenda, attempting to transform liberal capitalism from within? Or should it break with this, calling for revolt against a capitalist class unbowed by the movements of the past decade? In this book, four authors address this question by returning to Marx—or rather, by asking which Marx we should return to. Is Marx an inveterate democrat, whose work privileges the dignity of man above all? Or is he—as Louis Althusser once argued—the founder of a new science, incompatible with the shibboleths of liberal-capitalist society? But they also go beyond this, by tackling topics ranging from communization theory to analytical Marxism to the Mexican Desarrollo.

The title of this book refers to Marx’s “imaginary flower,” discharging itself into the domain of the living. Its authors grew from the same stem. Bent on breaking our chains, these essays furnish proof they are now in full formal flower.