Rethinking Marxism From kant and Hegel to Marx and Engels

Rethinking Marxism re-examines the relationship between the
philosophies of Kant, Hegel, Marx and Engels. Agar contends that through
the idealisms of Kant and Hegel we can find the methodological foundations
for the development of the German tradition of critique into the systematic
materialist worldview that can be found in Marx and Engels. Furthermore,
Agar argues that this Marxian materialism is broadly compatible with the
dialectical critical realism of Roy Bhaskar. Agar stimulates debate with
the conclusion that Bhaskar's work does not represent a sustainable and
coherent form of realism and it is only when realist concepts are grounded
in Marxian ontological materialism that such a form is possible.

This clear and accessible book will be of use to social theorists and
political scholars, to all those looking for a new understanding of the
complex relationship between Kant, Hegel, Marx and Engels and to those who
seek an introduction to dialectical critical realism in general and its
relationship to these giants of German philosophy in particular.