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Book What is Marxism

Marxist Theory · 2026-05-13

Core Argument

The central thesis of What is Marxism? is that Marxism constitutes a unified, scientific world outlook comprising three inseparable component parts: dialectical materialism (philosophy), historical materialism (the theory of social development), and Marxist economics (the critique of political economy). The book argues that these are not three separate disciplines but a single, coherent method for understanding and changing the world. It claims that Marxism is not a dogma to be memorised but a guide to action, and that its relevance is proven precisely by the intensifying crises of capitalism — war, inequality, instability — which drive millions toward revolutionary ideas. The argument is that only by grasping this totality can the working class consciously intervene to overthrow capitalism and build socialism.

Theoretical Grounding

The analysis is grounded in the classical Marxist tradition as developed by Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Trotsky. It draws directly on Lenin's formulation of the "three sources and three component parts" of Marxism — German classical philosophy, English political economy, and French utopian socialism — but reworks this into a pedagogical framework. The book's theoretical architecture rests on:

  • Dialectical materialism: The philosophical method derived from Hegel but stood on its feet, emphasising contradiction, the interpenetration of opposites, and the transformation of quantity into quality. Trotsky's ABC of Materialist Dialectics is included as a key text.
  • Historical materialism: The application of dialectics to social development, arguing that the mode of production determines the general character of social, political, and intellectual life. Engels's letter to Bloch is used to clarify the relationship between base and superstructure, rejecting both mechanical determinism and voluntarism.
  • Marxist economics: The labour theory of value, the theory of surplus value, and the tendency of the rate of profit to fall are presented as the scientific core of Marx's critique of capitalism, explaining the inevitability of crisis.

The book sits firmly within the orthodox Marxist tradition, rejecting both reformist and Stalinist distortions. It treats Marxism as a living, revolutionary method rather than a closed system.

Conjunctural Relevance

Published in 2015 and updated for a second edition, the book is positioned as a direct response to the post-2008 crisis conjuncture. The introduction explicitly frames Marxism's growing appeal in terms of "instability, crisis, war and ever-growing inequality" — conditions that have only intensified since. The book is aimed at a new generation radicalised by austerity, the failure of social democracy, and the return of great-power rivalry. It does not engage with specific conjunctural events in detail (it is an introductory text), but its entire rationale is that the objective conditions of the 21st century — recurring financial crises, the hollowing out of welfare states, the rise of the far right, and the exhaustion of reformism — have made Marxist ideas more, not less, necessary. The book's existence is itself a conjunctural intervention: it assumes an audience of workers and youth who have begun to question capitalism but lack the theoretical tools to move beyond indignation.

Where the Argument Continues

This book is explicitly designed as an entry point. The argument continues in several directions:

  • Within the IDOM corpus: Alan Woods's Reformism or Revolution and The History of Philosophy develop the philosophical and strategic dimensions. Rob Sewell's Germany: From Revolution to Counter-Revolution applies historical materialism to a concrete case. The IDOM website's extensive archive of articles on the Greek crisis, the Arab Spring, and the COVID-19 pandemic applies the same method to contemporary events.
  • In Against the Stream episodes: The podcast regularly revisits the core concepts — value, crisis, the state — in light of current developments, making the abstract concrete.
  • In the broader Marxist tradition: The book explicitly directs readers to the original works of Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Trotsky. It functions as a syllabus: having read What is Marxism?, the reader is equipped to tackle Capital, The State and Revolution, and The Transitional Programme.

What the book leaves underdeveloped — deliberately, as an introductory text — is the concrete application of these categories to the specificities of the 21st century: the role of China, the nature of the contemporary state, the dynamics of financialised capitalism. These are taken up in more advanced IDOM publications.

Connections

  • Lenin, The Three Sources and Three Component Parts of Marxism: The direct ancestor of the book's organising framework.
  • Trotsky, In Defence of Marxism: The methodological companion, defending dialectical materialism against positivist and idealist deviations.
  • Alan Woods, Reformism or Revolution: Applies the same method to the strategic question of how the working class can take power.
  • Engels, Socialism: Utopian and Scientific: The classic popularisation of Marxism, which What is Marxism? consciously emulates in its pedagogical ambition.
  • Mandel, An Introduction to Marxist Economic Theory: A more detailed treatment of the economics section, useful for readers who want to go deeper.

Key Quotes

  1. "Marxism – or scientific socialism – is the name given to the body of ideas first worked out by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels more than 150 years ago. In their totality, these ideas provide a fully worked-out theoretical basis for the struggle of the working class to attain a higher form of human society – socialism."

  2. "In this epoch of instability, crisis, war and ever-growing inequality, Marxism is becoming an increasingly attractive proposition to millions of workers and young people around the world."

  3. "The old mole of revolution, to use Karl Marx's own phrase, is burrowing deep into the foundations of society."

  4. "Yet, if that were true, why are so many books and articles churned out year-on-year attacking Marxism? Clearly the powers that be are rattled or indeed frightened by these 'dead' ideas."

  5. "The three component parts of Marxist theory, corresponding broadly to philosophy, social history and economics: dialectical materialism, historical materialism and Marxist economics."

  6. "Complementing these introductions are key extracts from some of the great works of Marxism written by its most outstanding figures – Marx, Engels, Lenin and Trotsky."