Books, Works & Articles

“C.L.R. James (1901-1989) is one of the few political thinkers whose ideas have made a genuinely significant contribution to the development of emancipatory ideas in the twentieth century. In this volume, Anthony Bogues examines the origins of the relationship between the black radical tradition and James’s own view of Marxism. Integrating these two political currents provided the basis for a profound critique that became the hallmark of James’s life’s work. This study is the first to excavate the elements of a Jamesian political philosophy.

“Anthony Bogues traces the main features of James’s early political thought, up to his deportation from the United States in the early 1950s, arguing that his work represents a major attempt in the immediate postwar period to establish new frontiers in Marxism and radical political thought in general. This illuminating and scholarly study reinforces James’s position as a political theorist of major standing.”

‘A fine study on the early intellectual development of James.’ –Research in African Literatures  ‘A very strong book, thoroughly researched and brilliantly argued. Not Surprisingly, the result is that Bogues has produced the best work to date on the early political thought of James.’ –CLR James Journal

Contents:

1. Issues in James’s Political Thought
2. The Making of a Marxist
3. James’s Early Marxism
4. The American Years
5. James and the Race Question
6. Breaking New Ground
7. The New Universals
8. James, Marx and the Notion of Happiness
9. James, Independent Marxism and the Marxist Tradition: A Summary, 1934-53

Anthony Bogues is the Lyn Crost Professor of Social Sciences and Critical Theory and Director, Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice, Africana Intellectual History and Political Thought at Brown University.

Buy it here.