Hubbry Logo
search
logo
Rethinking Marxism avatar
Rethinking Marxism
Rethinking Marxism
current hub
R

Rethinking Marxism

logo
Community Hub0 Subscribers
Read side by side
Rethinking Marxism
View on Wikipedia
from Wikipedia
Rethinking Marxism
Disciplineeconomics, politics, sociology
LanguageEnglish
Edited byYahya M. Madra, Vincent Lyon-Callo[1]
Publication details
History1988—present
Publisher
FrequencyQuarterly
Standard abbreviations
ISO 4Rethink. Marx.
Indexing
ISSN0893-5696 (print)
1475-8059 (web)
LCCN88658558
OCLC no.472814893
Links

Rethinking Marxism is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering Marxist analyses of economics, culture, and society. It was established in 1988 and has been published by Routledge since 2003 on behalf of the Association for Economic and Social Analysis. The editors-in-chief are Yahya M. Madra and Vincent Lyon-Callo.[1]

History

[edit]

Founded mainly by the professors and graduate students of the Department of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, the first issue of Rethinking Marxism appeared in 1988, just before the dissolution of the Soviet Union began. The journal quickly became an influential academic platform for Althusserian Marxism in the North American context.[2]

Even though the journal was launched by a group of economists (among others, Stephen Resnick, Richard D. Wolff, Jack Amariglio, David Ruccio) and continues to regularly publish articles in the various sub-fields of Marxist economics, such as the labor theory of value, class analysis, and crisis theory, Rethinking Marxism does not have an exclusive economics focus. It is a journal of Marxist theory that makes it a point to rethink and develop Marxist analyses of capitalism, imperialism and alternatives to capitalism.[3]

Rethinking Marxism is also known for its sustained efforts to showcase contemporary art practices. Each issue of the journal presents an original work by a contemporary artist (e.g., Martha Rosler, Mark Lombardi, Michael Rakowitz, Thomas Hirschhorn, Chto Delat).

From 1989 to 1998, the editor of the journal was Jack Amariglio. From 1998 to 2010, David Ruccio served as editor. He was succeeded by S. Charusheela (2010–2013),[3] Who was then followed by Marcus E. Green and Serap Kayatekin (2013–2019). The current editors of the journal are Yahya M. Madra and Vincent Lyon-Callo.[1]

Abstracting and indexing

[edit]

This journal is abstracted and indexed in the following databases:

References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Rethinking Marxism

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
Rethinking Marxism is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes research on Marxian economic, cultural, and social analysis. Established in 1988, it provides a forum for debating the explanatory power and social consequences of Marxist theory, with a focus on class analysis and its intersections with political, psychological, economic, and other social processes. The journal promotes theoretical, philosophical, and empirical extensions of Marxian thought to advance strategies for radical social change, including efforts to end class exploitation and various forms of oppression based on race, gender, and sexual orientation. It is published by Routledge (Taylor & Francis) on behalf of the Association for Economic and Social Analysis.[1][2][3] The journal encourages interdisciplinary contributions from diverse perspectives and stylistic approaches to Marxian discourse, welcoming explorations of contemporary issues through Marxist lenses. It emphasizes class as a central but not exclusive category within Marxism, while fostering philosophical and methodological debates that shape Marxian scholarship. As a hybrid open access publication, it offers options for open access publishing and maintains a peer-review process for all submitted material.[2][3] Rethinking Marxism has served as a key venue for non-traditional Marxist scholarship, including nonessentialist and Althusserian approaches, and continues to feature analyses that bridge economics, culture, and society.[3][2]

Overview

Aims and Scope

Rethinking Marxism aims to stimulate interest in and debate over the explanatory power and social consequences of Marxian economic, cultural, and social analysis.[2] The journal publishes studies that discuss, elaborate, or extend Marxian theory, encompassing theoretical and philosophical concerns—including methodological and epistemological matters—as well as more concrete empirical analyses that contribute to the development of distinctively Marxian discourses. It encourages submissions from scholars across many disciplines and a wide range of perspectives while seeking to expand the diversity of styles for producing and presenting Marxian discourses.[2] A distinguishing feature of the journal is its commitment to ensuring that class remains an important but non-exclusive focus of Marxism. It emphasizes the complex intersections of class with economic, political, psychological, and other social processes, alongside exploration of the philosophical positions that shape Marxian analyses.[2] The journal promotes Marxian approaches to social theory for their potential role in developing strategies for radical social change, particularly to end class exploitation and various forms of political, cultural, and psychological oppression—including those based on race, gender, and sexual orientation. It especially welcomes research exploring these issues from Marxian perspectives.[2]

Founding and History

Rethinking Marxism was founded in 1988 by Stephen Resnick, Richard D. Wolff, Jack Amariglio, and David Ruccio, economists affiliated with the University of Massachusetts Amherst.[4] Jack Amariglio served as its founding editor, a role he held for nine years.[5] The journal emerged as a collective endeavor to advance nonessentialist Marxist scholarship, drawing heavily on Althusserian influences that emphasize overdetermination, anti-determinism, and the critique of essentialist readings of Marxian theory. Launched in the late 1980s, just before the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, it provided a prominent North American forum for innovative Marxian analyses at a time of profound ideological and political shifts in global socialism. The journal's early development focused on rethinking Marxist understandings of class, capitalism, imperialism, and social alternatives, extending traditional economic inquiries to intersections with political, cultural, and psychological processes. A distinctive feature from its inception has been the inclusion of contemporary art in each issue, reflecting an intentional engagement with cultural forms as sites of Marxian critique and radical imagination.[6] In 2003, publication responsibilities transitioned to Routledge (part of Taylor & Francis) on behalf of the Association for Economic and Social Analysis (AESA), the sponsoring organization that has supported the journal's mission to foster debate on the explanatory power and social implications of Marxian analysis. This arrangement has sustained the journal's quarterly frequency and its commitment to diverse, nonorthodox Marxian scholarship.

Editorial Team

Founders and Past Editors

Rethinking Marxism was founded in 1988 by a group including economists Stephen Resnick, Richard D. Wolff, Jack Amariglio, and David Ruccio, primarily associated with the University of Massachusetts Amherst. These founders established the journal as a forum for nonessentialist and Althusserian Marxist scholarship, emphasizing innovative Marxian analyses that explore class in relation to political, cultural, psychological, and other social processes.[4] Jack Amariglio served as the founding editor from 1989 to 1998. He shaped the journal's early direction, promoting theoretical openness and a commitment to diverse Marxist perspectives that challenge essentialist assumptions.[5] David Ruccio succeeded Amariglio as editor from 1998 to 2010. Under his leadership, the journal deepened its focus on intersections between Marxian class theory and broader social, cultural, and economic dynamics.[7] S. Charusheela served as editor from 2010 to 2013, maintaining the journal's emphasis on nonessentialist approaches while supporting contributions that extended Marxist analysis across disciplines.[8] Marcus E. Green and Serap Kayatekin served as co-editors from 2013 to 2019. They sustained the journal's founding orientation toward critical Marxist scholarship and its engagement with contemporary theoretical debates.[2]

Current Editorial Board

The current editorial board of Rethinking Marxism is structured around a core group of co-editors who oversee the journal's content and direction, supported by associate editors, editors at large, and specialized operational and section-specific roles.[2] The co-editors are Yahya M. Madra (Drew University), Ceren Özselçuk (Boğaziçi University), Chizu Sato (Wageningen University), and Zoe Sherman (Merrimack College).[2] The associate editors are Esra Erdem (Alice Salomon Hochschule Berlin), Stephen Healy (Western Sydney University), and Maliha Safri (Drew University).[2] Editors at large are Marcus E. Green and Serap A. Kayatekin.[2] Supporting roles include Ceren Özselçuk as managing editor, Jared Randall as production editor, and Elizabeth Ramey as proofreader.[2] Section-specific editors handle dedicated features: Yahya M. Madra for Art/Iculations; Esra Erdem for Globalization under Interrogation; Anup Dhar, Boone Shear, and Anastasia Wilson for Remarx; Faruk Eray Düzenli and Dan Skinner for Reviews; Serap A. Kayatekin and Yahya M. Madra for Art; and Eray F. Düzenli and Kenan Erçel for Keywords.[2] The journal's editorial office can be contacted at [email protected].[2]

Publication and Distribution

Publisher and Frequency

Rethinking Marxism is published quarterly, with four issues per year, by Routledge (an imprint of Taylor & Francis) on behalf of the Association for Economic and Social Analysis.[2] The journal is issued in both print (ISSN 0893-5696) and online (ISSN 1475-8059) formats.[2] It operates under a hybrid open access model as part of the Taylor & Francis Open Select program, which gives authors the option to make their articles freely accessible online immediately upon publication in exchange for an Article Publishing Charge (APC); this charge may be waived or reduced if the author's institution or funder has an applicable open access agreement with Taylor & Francis.[2] All material published in the journal undergoes peer review.[2]

Indexing and Metrics

Rethinking Marxism is abstracted and indexed in numerous scholarly databases and services, including the Alternative Press Index, Scopus, Emerging Sources Citation Index, International Bibliography of the Social Sciences, Left Index, SocINDEX, and Social Services Abstracts, among others.[9] According to 2024 journal metrics provided by the publisher, the journal has an Impact Factor of 0.7 and a 5-Year Impact Factor of 0.7. Its CiteScore (Scopus) stands at 1.4, placing it in Q2 for its best quartile ranking, with a Source Normalized Impact per Paper (SNIP) of 0.830 and an SCImago Journal Rank (SJR) of 0.378.[2] The journal reports approximately 89,000 annual downloads and views. Its acceptance rate is 38%, based on articles accepted in the previous calendar year relative to those receiving a final decision, and the average time from submission to first decision is 93 days (calculated from manuscripts receiving a first decision in recent periods, including desk rejections).[2]

Theoretical Focus and Contributions

Marxian Class Theory

Rethinking Marxism promotes a distinctive nonessentialist approach to Marxian class theory, drawing on Althusserian influences to conceptualize class not as a fixed essence or mere economic category but as an overdetermined process centered on the production, appropriation, and distribution of surplus labor. This perspective rejects deterministic or essentialist interpretations, viewing class processes as constituted by a multiplicity of intersecting social relations rather than reducible to any single factor.[10] A core tenet of this framework defines the fundamental class process as the production and appropriation of surplus labor, while subsumed class processes involve the distribution and receipt of that surplus, forming complex class structures. The journal's emphasis on overdetermination underscores that these processes are shaped by an array of economic, political, psychological, and other social conditions, with no single process holding explanatory primacy.[11] As articulated in the journal's aims and scope, class constitutes an important but non-exclusive focus of Marxism, with particular attention to "the complex intersection of class with economic, political, psychological, and all other social processes." This orientation encourages analyses that explore class dynamics across diverse contexts while advancing strategies to end class exploitation.[12] The journal has featured contributions that extend these concepts beyond traditional economic boundaries, such as examinations of hybrid-directed enterprises that combine conflicting class structures—for example, producer cooperatives that hire wageworkers or incorporate external directors, resulting in coexisting communist and capitalist class processes at the same site. Such analyses highlight inherent tensions, contradictions, and potential transformative possibilities within these hybrid forms.[11]

Intersections with Culture and Society

Rethinking Marxism emphasizes the complex intersections of class with a wide array of social processes, including political, psychological, cultural, and other dimensions beyond purely economic relations.[2] The journal publishes work that examines how class dynamics interact with race, gender, and sexual orientation, treating these as interconnected sites of oppression rather than isolated categories.[2] This approach aligns with its broader commitment to nonessentialist Marxian theory, which avoids reducing social phenomena to economic determinants alone and instead explores how class processes shape and are shaped by diverse social experiences.[2] A key focus is on forms of oppression linked to race, gender, and sexual orientation, which the journal frames as intertwined with class exploitation and cultural domination.[2] Articles and symposia have addressed these intersections, such as analyses of sexuality in relation to state and class power or gender and class in capitalist regeneration efforts.[13] By foregrounding these connections, the journal contributes to Marxian social theory that seeks to understand oppression holistically and to inform strategies for overcoming it.[2] The journal also engages with imperialism and alternatives to capitalism through Marxian lenses that highlight global power asymmetries and possibilities for radical transformation.[3] It promotes interdisciplinary perspectives, welcoming contributions from diverse disciplines to enrich analyses of how class intersects with political and cultural processes in imperial contexts and in envisioning post-capitalist futures.[2] This work supports the development of strategies aimed at ending class exploitation alongside other forms of political, cultural, and psychological oppression.[2]

Contemporary Art Feature

Rethinking Marxism regularly features original contemporary art in many issues, often through a dedicated "ART" section that presents pictorial works or visual projects by artists. These contributions are submitted via a specific process coordinated with the journal's art editor and are intended to relate to and expand Marxian discourses on economics, culture, and society.[14] The inclusion of such art integrates visual practices into the journal's interdisciplinary exploration of Marxist thought, using artistic forms to engage with themes of class, exploitation, and cultural production in contemporary contexts. Recent examples include the pictorial work "Icebergian Economies of Contemporary Art" by Kathrin Böhm and Kuba Szreder (Centre for Plausible Economies), which reflects on artistic economies through visual and conceptual means.[15] Notable contributions have come from artists such as Thomas Hirschhorn, whose works published in the journal include "Gramsci Monument," documenting his collaborative monument project dedicated to Antonio Gramsci, and "Flamme éternelle," involving a daily journal, lectures, and artistic presence around symbolic fireplaces.[16][17] Other projects have featured collaborations around Martha Rosler's Library, presented in conjunction with the journal's art editors.[18] These art features complement the journal's broader engagement with cultural intersections, providing a visual dimension to Marxian analyses.

Impact and Legacy

Influence on Marxist Scholarship

Rethinking Marxism has served as a key platform for diverse, non-dogmatic Marxist scholarship by promoting approaches that avoid orthodox interpretations and emphasize the intersections of class analysis with political, cultural, psychological, and other social processes.[2] Scholars have praised the journal for sustaining and enriching Marxist thought through its openness to critique, plurality of perspectives, and refusal to adhere to a single school of thought. Wendy Brown has stated that "through its openness to intelligent critiques of Marxism, its enthusiasm for useful supplements, its refusal to adhere to any one school of thought, and its wide reach across the disciplines, Rethinking Marxism sustains and enriches the intellectual tradition it honors. In keeping Marxism away from orthodoxy, it keeps it alive."[2] Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak has highlighted its ongoing contribution, noting that "Rethinking Marx’s prodigious historical futurology is the most pressing global task today. And Rethinking Marxism has been doing it for fifteen years. My work and teaching are enhanced by it. I have tried to remain involved with the activities of this radical collective in order to keep a certain area of my intellectual concerns alive."[2] Dipesh Chakrabarty has described it as "RETHINKING MARXISM remains a foremost site for debating intellectual and political issues of the day from a variety of radical perspectives. Committed to plurality and dissent, it represents the Left at its non-dogmatic best."[2] Guglielmo Carchedi has called it "RETHINKING MARXISM has established itself as one of the major Marxist journals in the English-speaking world. The scope of its topics, the depth of analysis, and the plurality of perspectives make of this journal a powerful instrument for the radical transformation of the capitalist world."[2] Through these commitments, the journal has contributed significantly to ongoing debates in Marxian theory, fostering discussions that extend Marxist frameworks and support strategies for radical social change aimed at ending class exploitation and intersecting forms of oppression.[2]

Conferences and Related Activities

The Association for Economic and Social Analysis (AESA), the organization responsible for producing Rethinking Marxism, has sponsored international conferences to advance nonessentialist Marxian scholarship and stimulate broader debate on Marxian economic, cultural, and social analyses.[19] These events expand the journal's mission by providing platforms for interdisciplinary presentations, discussions, and exchanges that explore class processes in intersection with political, cultural, and other social dynamics.[19][3] Over the years, AESA has organized several such gatherings, often themed around contemporary challenges in Marxist theory and practice. For instance, the 2009 international conference "New Marxian Times" addressed evolving Marxian perspectives amid global shifts, featuring keynote addresses and panels that engaged with issues such as nationalism and crisis theory.[20] Subsequent events included the 2012 "Stranger Economies" conference (November 1-3, at the University of Washington, sponsored in part by the Simpson Center for the Humanities), which interrogated the strangeness and alterity of economic relations, and the 2013 conference "Surplus, Solidarity, Sufficiency" (September 19-22, at the University of Massachusetts Amherst), which explored unconventional dimensions such as surplus, solidarity, and sufficiency in modern contexts.[21][22][23][24] These conferences have facilitated scholarly networks and dialogue aligned with the journal's emphasis on diverse Marxian approaches, with many presentations subsequently developed into articles published in Rethinking Marxism.[25][23] The most recent documented international conference was in 2013; no further such events appear in available sources as of 2026, though the 2019 AESA statement expressed ongoing commitment to conferences and related activities.[19] By convening scholars for extended multi-day programs, AESA's events have contributed to ongoing efforts to rethink Marxist frameworks in response to current social and economic realities.[19]
User Avatar
No comments yet.