A debate between Jeff Goodwin (New York University) and James Jasper (CUNY Graduate Center)

On the occasion of the paperback publication by Haymarket Books of Marxism and Social Movements, edited by Colin Barker, Laurence Cox, John Krinsky & Alf Gunvald Nilsen

Why have scholars of social movements in the United States almost completely ignored the Marxist tradition? Hasn’t this tradition been extremely useful for understanding—and inspiring—popular movements? Or has Marxism become a hindrance to understanding--and making--movements today?

Marxism and Social Movements is the first sustained engagement between social-movement theory and Marxist approaches to collective action. Its chapters, written by leading figures in both fields, discuss the potential for a Marxist theory of social movements. Exploring struggles on six continents over 150 years, it sets a new agenda both for Marxist theory and for movement research.

Jeff Goodwin and James Jasper are leading academic specialists on social movements and revolutions.

Jasper is author of The Art of Moral Protest (Chicago), The Animal Rights Crusade (Free Press) (with Dorothy Nelkin), and Nuclear Politics (Princeton).

Goodwin is the author of No Other Way Out: States and Revolutionary Movements (Cambridge).

Together, they have edited six books, including Passionate Politics: Emotions and Social Movements (Chicago) (with Francesca Polletta), The Social Movements Reader (Wiley-Blackwell), Rethinking Social Movements (Rowman & Littlefield), and Contention in Context (Stanford).