Karl Marx’s Theory of Revolution, Vol. V: War and Revolution

This fifth and final volume of Hal Draper’s incomparable series was completed posthumously by Draper’s collaborator Ernest Haberkern. It addresses the fact that Marx and Engels’s views on war, revolution and the relation between the two evolved over time in response to the turbulent political and military history of the nineteenth century. The result has been that anyone can select a text to prove that Marx and Engels held the author’s position. The solution is to review the statements of Marx and Engels in their historical context.

This series, Karl Marx’s Theory of Revolution, represents an exhaustive and definitive treatment of Marx’s political theory, policy, and practice. Marx and Engels paid continuing attention to a host of problems of revolution, in addition to constructing their “grand theory.” All these political and social analyses are brought together in these volumes, as the author draws not only on the original writings of Marx and Engels but also on the sources that they used in formulating their ideas and the many commentaries on their published work.

Draper’s series is a massive and immensely valuable scholarly undertaking. The bibliography alone will stand as a rich resource for years to come. Yet despite the scholarly treatment, the writing is direct, forceful, and unpedantic throughout, and will appeal to the beginning student as much as the advanced reader.

Hal Draper (1914-1990) was a socialist writer, activist, and life-long advocate for “socialism from below.” He served as editor for a number of socialist periodicals and was the author of many works, including the magisterial five-volume series, Karl Marx’s Theory of Revolution.