The Sociology of Postmarxism: (Routledge Advances in Sociology)

Postmarxism is often depicted as a point of intersection for a set of inter-disciplinary theories that are in themselves complex and dense. Bringing the postmarxist theory of Ernesto Laclau into the field of political sociology through a close reading and analysis of postmarxism and its relationship to ‘the social’, A Sociology of Postmarxism develops key postmarxist arguments in an engaging and sociologically applicable way. Indeed, through a threefold method of analysis, Howson first unpacks the relationship between ‘the social’ and ‘the political’ by analysing key allied theories to show where the points of connection occur. This is then followed by an insightful analysis of the key features of postmarxist theory such as antagonism and the inevitability of social dislocation, the political importance of hegemony; and the empty signifier thesis and equivalence to show how such theory can be applied at a sociological level. Finally, through the use of sociological categories such as masculinities, migration and social capital, the foregoing theoretical analyses are synthesised to show the social nature of postmarxism and particularly in the context of aspiration and co-operation. This enlightening volume will appeal to undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as postdoctoral researchers who are interested in fields such as Political Sociology, Post Marxist Political Theory and Social Theory.

Table of Contents:
Table of Contents _____________________________________________________________________________ Chapter One: Introduction Why The Social? Why Postmarxism? Why Postmarxism and Social capital Chapter Two: From the Social to the Political Introduction The Social in Historical Materialism Setting out a Post- Terrain Sociology and The Social in Postmarxism Counter-Positions of The Social Chapter Three: Classical Approaches to The Social Introduction The Sociological project and the Emergence of Positivism Karl Marx: Logic to Contradiction to Mediation Emile Durkheim: Moral Positivism and Mediation Max Weber: From Rationality to Irrationality as Social Mediation Chapter Four: Establishing a Basis for Postmarxism Introduction The New Priority The Social as ‘Sedimentation’ and The Political as ‘Reactivation’ Chapter Five: From Antagonism to Equivalence Introduction Antagonism as the Limit of Social Objectivity "You Can Only Free Somethings …": Hegemony and The Political Hegemony and the Constitution of Equivalence Chapter Six: Finding The Political in Social Capital Introduction What is Social Capital? Forms of Social Capital Social Capital and The Political Chapter Seven: Desert - Migration as Social Dislocation Introduction Quantity and Composition of Global Migration Migration and (Post)Industrialisation Foundational Approaches to Migration Definitional Problematics Causation Theories Continuation Theories Postmarxism and Migration Chapter Eight: Aspiration – Hegemonic Masculinity as Emptiness Introduction Gender Antagonism in the Modernity-Postmodernity Tens

About the Author :
Richard Howson is Associate Professor in Sociology at the University of Wollongong

Review :
The Sociology of Postmarxism is a pleasure to read, at least for this reader. It combines careful, concise and generic analysis of the relations of marxism, materialism and discourse with an opening up of specific avenues, such as, social capital, migration, and men and masculinities, to the insights of postmarxist approaches in sociology. In so doing, it delivers a profound critique and challenge to Sociology itself, both mainstream and critical, and its mystifications of "society". Jeff Hearn, Örebro University, Sweden; Hanken School of Economics, Finland; University of Huddersfield, UK