In favor of Althusser: revolution and rupture in Marxist theory

Abstract

The publication of this book takes place in a political and theoretical context of crisis in capitalism and is part of a process of renewed interest in the work of the Marxist philosopher Louis Althusser on an international scale. Almost always labeled as structuralist for allegedly not paying attention to social change, Althusser's work actually constitutes a milestone in the process of renewing Marxism, especially for characterizing historical materialism as a science and for engaging in the criticism of humanist ideology (that is, bourgeois legal ideology), which has clouded the revolutionary nature of Marx's mature writings.