If You Want to Understand Marxism, Read G. A. Cohen
Socialist philosopher G. A. Cohen was a brilliant thinker who subjected Marxism to the same scrutiny he would any other ideology. If you want to see Marxism at its most nondogmatic and precise, you should read G. A. Cohen.
The late philosopher G. A. Cohen was became one of the most important pioneers of a tendency called “Analytic Marxism.” (Philosophy Overdose / YouTube)
The late G. A. Cohen was many things, not all of which usually go together. He was the son of a working-class Canadian Communist family who outgrew his early attachment to the Soviet Union but never let go of his socialist convictions. He was an Oxford-educated philosophy professor who became one of the most important pioneers of a tendency called “Analytic Marxism.”
He was also very, very funny. Here’s Cohen doing an impression of his mentor, philosopher Gilbert Ryle, that I showed to the late Michael Brooks a couple years ago; Michael told me he was angry that Cohen wasn’t still with us because he wanted Cohen to come on his show:
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