August Nimtz

Black Marxism

"Overthe last decade, Cedric Robinson's Black Marxism: The Making of the BlackRadical Tradition has had a tremendous influence on scholars and activistsalike, deeply shaping debates on the place of race within capitalistsocieties. Is race subsumed by class, with the latter the sine qua non ofcapitalism? Do race and class act independently within modern societies? Ordoes capitalism inevitably express a deeper racial impetus in the West? Inthis, the first book-length discussion of Black Marxism, Nimtz lays out thelimits of Robinson's much-celebrated text, showing it represents asophisticated, but ultimately flawed, version of Black nationalism. Nimtzdefends Marxism from Robinson's accusations of myopia on matters of race,suggesting that, in charging Marx and Engels with Eurocentrism, he eitherfailed to understand, or misrepresented, their work-and that, in effect, manythinkers inspired by Black Marxism blatantly misrepresented Marxist texts.Especially in his writings about the U.S. Civil War, Marx had far more to sayabout race than is commonly understood, Nimtz shows. An authentic Marxism, argues Nimtz, remains the most reliable real-worldmethod for human liberation, not least among peoples of African descent. Speakinghimself as a contemporary of Robinson's, Nimtz grounds "Black Marxism": AMarxist Critique in an account of his own upbringing in New Orleans, and hisdevelopment throughout the struggles of the 1960s, explaining how and why hecame to radically different conclusions. Accessible and engaging, "BlackMarxism": A Marxist Critique will be a significant intervention in therace-versus-class debate on the U.S. Left. No doubt, Nimtz's trenchantcritique will generate controversy, highlighting how more possibilities fortransracial class alliances exist than ever before-and misguided theorieslike Robinson's prevent us from seeing that potential. His detailed rejoinderto Black Marxism is much needed." "Veteran Marxist scholar and activist August Nimtz has given us in thismasterful study the most decisive intervention in many years in therace-versus-class debate. This work could not be more timely given theurgency of building proletarian consciousness and unity in the face of globalcapitalist crisis and the threat of fascism. As Professor Nimtz put it, thereis a fundamental incompatibility between the 'Black Marxism' of CedricRobinson and the real Marxist project. He shows why 'Black Marxism' is 'not only useless but in today's worlddangerous - a chimera, a faux solution.'"-William I. Robinson, DistinguishedProfessor of Sociology, University of California at Santa Barbara