Video The Revolutionary Philosophy of Marxism book launch with Alan Woods in NYC

Marxist Theory · 2026-05-13

Core Argument¶

The central thesis of Alan Woods's talk is that Marxist philosophy — dialectical materialism — is not an abstract or optional add-on to revolutionary politics but the indispensable theoretical foundation of the entire Marxist project. Woods argues that Marxism unifies two great philosophical traditions — materialism and dialectics — which had previously existed separately and incompletely. The book launch serves as an intervention against the widespread neglect of philosophy within the workers' movement, insisting that without a correct philosophical method, the working class cannot achieve political consciousness or strategic clarity. The claim is that theory is the decisive component of the subjective factor — the conscious, organised element that transforms the working class from a class "in itself" into a class "for itself."

Theoretical Grounding¶

The analysis draws directly on the classical Marxist tradition, particularly Engels's Dialectics of Nature and Anti-Dühring, Lenin's Materialism and Empirio-Criticism and his philosophical notebooks on Hegel, and the broader tradition of Marxist philosophy as developed by figures such as Plekhanov and Trotsky. Woods situates the argument within the materialist conception of history, asserting that consciousness arises from and reflects material reality, but that dialectics — the logic of contradiction, development, and transformation — is the method by which that reality can be understood and changed.

The talk explicitly rejects the positivist and mechanical materialist interpretations that have historically dogged the Marxist movement, as well as the idealist deviations that treat consciousness as autonomous from material conditions. It sits firmly in the tradition that insists on the unity of theory and practice: philosophy is not a contemplative exercise but a weapon in the class struggle. The argument also implicitly challenges the post-Marxist and postmodern currents that have abandoned the search for objective truth, reasserting the Leninist position that a correct theoretical grasp of objective reality is a precondition for effective revolutionary strategy.

Conjunctural Relevance¶

Woods's talk was delivered in December 2018, at a moment when the global capitalist system was showing clear signs of strain — rising inequality, political instability, the growth of the far right, and the exhaustion of the neoliberal policy framework. The book launch took place at the Northeast Regional Marxist School in New York City, an event organised by the Revolutionary Communist International's predecessor organisations in the United States. The conjuncture is one in which the working class internationally has suffered decades of defeats, ideological disorientation, and the collapse of the mass reformist parties that once channelled — and contained — working-class militancy.

The relevance of the philosophical argument to this moment is that the crisis of leadership and strategy in the workers' movement is, at root, a crisis of theory. Without a dialectical materialist method, the movement cannot grasp the totality of capitalist society, cannot understand the interconnections between economics, politics, and ideology, and cannot develop a strategy that goes beyond partial reforms. Woods's intervention is therefore aimed at rebuilding the theoretical confidence of a new generation of revolutionaries who face a world in crisis but lack the intellectual tools to navigate it.

Where the Argument Continues¶

This talk is an introduction to a much larger body of work. The book itself, The Revolutionary Philosophy of Marxism, collects key texts on dialectical materialism from the Marxist tradition, and Woods's introduction expands on the themes sketched here. The argument continues across the In Defence of Marxism website, particularly in articles on the dialectics of nature, the relationship between Marxism and science, and the critique of reformist and opportunist conceptions of theory. The Against the Stream podcast series frequently returns to philosophical questions, especially in episodes dealing with the Hegelian roots of Marxism, the critique of postmodernism, and the philosophical errors of centrist and revisionist currents.

The talk leaves open the detailed application of dialectical materialism to specific conjunctural questions — the nature of the state, the dynamics of imperialism, the strategy for transitional demands — but these are developed elsewhere in the corpus. Readers and viewers should follow with Woods's writings on the law of uneven and combined development, the Marxist theory of crisis, and the political strategy of the united front and the transitional programme.

Connections¶

This talk should be read alongside Engels's Socialism: Utopian and Scientific and Lenin's Three Sources and Three Component Parts of Marxism for the classic formulations of Marxism's philosophical foundations. For a deeper treatment of dialectics, the key text is Lenin's Philosophical Notebooks, particularly his commentary on Hegel's Science of Logic. Within the contemporary Marxist tradition, Woods's work connects to the broader defence of dialectical materialism against both positivist Marxism (the Second International tradition) and the idealist turn of Western Marxism (Lukács, Gramsci, the Frankfurt School). The talk also implicitly engages with the Althusserian tradition, which sought to purge Marxism of Hegelian dialectics — a position Woods rejects outright.

Key Quotes¶

"Marxist philosophy is not something that is abstract and remote from the practical struggle of the working class. On the contrary, it is the theoretical weapon that the working class needs in order to understand the world and to change it."
"Materialism without dialectics is mechanical, passive, and ultimately leads to fatalism. Dialectics without materialism is idealist, abstract, and leads to voluntarism. Marxism is the unity of both."
"The crisis of the workers' movement is, at bottom, a crisis of theory. Without a correct philosophical method, we cannot hope to navigate the complexities of the class struggle or to develop a strategy for victory."
"The ruling class has its own philosophers, its own ideologists, who work tirelessly to confuse and disarm the working class. We must answer them not only with better politics but with better theory."
"The subjective factor is decisive at certain moments. But the subjective factor is not just willpower or militancy — it is consciousness armed with correct theory."
"Dialectical materialism teaches us that everything is in a state of constant change and development, that contradictions are the motor of history, and that the working class is the only force capable of resolving the contradictions of capitalism."