Norman Geras Livres

An important contribution to our understanding of twentieth-century Marxism During the first decades of the twentieth century, Rosa Luxemburg was the leader of the workers’ movement in Poland and Germany. She made a remarkable contribution to socialist theory and practice, yet her legacy remains in dispute. In this book Norman Geras interrogates and refutes the myths that have developed around her work. She was an opponent of socialist participation in the First World War and, as Geras shows, her views on socialist strategy in Russia were closer to Lenin’s than any other leader’s. Geras explores the development of Luxemburg’s critique in the period following the war and demonstrates how her thought is distinct from the social democratic or anarchist theories into which it is often subsumed. Geras brings new light to bear on one of the most misrepresented figures in radical history, illustrating her inspiring lack of complacency and her commitment to questioning those in authority on both the Right and the Left.

Focusing on the evolution of crimes against humanity, the book delves into its origins and ethical foundations while addressing its legal and philosophical limits. It offers a historical overview and various interpretations of the term, proposing a definition tied to basic human rights. The text also examines challenges related to the concept's boundaries, the criteria for its application, and the implications for humanitarian intervention. It concludes by discussing the future of crimes-against-humanity law and its potential development.

Exploring the moral implications of inaction, the narrative delves into the role of bystanders during instances of persecution and suffering. It raises critical questions about the responsibilities of individuals who witness injustice without intervening, highlighting the weight of silent complicity in the face of human rights violations. Through this lens, the book encourages readers to reflect on their own responses to suffering in the world around them.

This is an accessible and informative guide to the evolution of the concept of crimes against humanity- a hugely influential concept which has had a marked impact on modern international politics, law and ethics. -- .

“Marx did not reject the idea of a human nature. He was right not to do so.” That is the conclusion of this passionate and polemical new work by Norman Geras. In it, he places the sixth of Marx’s Theses on Feuerbach under rigorous scrutiny. He argues that this ambiguous statement—widely cited as evidence that Marx broke with all conceptions of human nature in 1845—must be read in the context of Marx’s work as a whole. His later writings are informed by an idea of a specifically human nature that fulfills both explanatory and normative functions. The belief that Marx’s historical materialism entailed a denial of the conception of human nature is, Geras writes, “an old fixation, which the Althusserian influence in this matter has fed upon … Because this fixation still exists and is misguided, it is still necessary to challenge it.” One hundred years after Marx’s death, this timely essay—combining the strengths of analytical philosophy and classical Marxism—rediscovers a central part of his heritage.

Norman Geras discusses a central aspect of the experience of the Holocaust with a view to exploring its most important contemporary implications. Geras's argument focuses on the figure of the bystander to consider the moral consequences of looking on without active responses at persecution and great suffering. -- .

Essential essays on key Marxist writers from a leading political thinker Literature of Revolution explores the pivotal texts and topics in the Marxist tradition, drawing on the works of Marx, Trotsky, Luxemburg, Lenin, and Althusser. In close dialogue with common themes and arguments in revolutionary Marxist thought, Geras brings some of his persistent preoccupations to the fore: the relationship between Marxism and justice; the debates on political organization; and the role of revolutionary mass action and party pluralism; as well as an enthralling exploration into the literary power of Trotsky’s writing.