Compare and contrast the positions of one or more neo-Marxist or Essay

Compare and contrast the positions of one or more neo-Marxist or post-Marxist theorists of ideology with those of the classical Marxist tradition - Essay Example It is reasonable to assume that public sentiment and government economic policies (usually informed by contemporary economists noted above) are pulling in opposite directions. And the tensions created by these opposing tendencies are already giving rise to widespread social unrest, as shown by the emergence of the global solidarity movement and the World Social Forum. (Frankel,1997, p.58) In this context, it makes for an interesting exercise to understand contemporary interpretations, revisions and adaptations of Marxism, which have come to be termed variously as neo-Marxism and post-Marxism. Some of the leading figures in the neo-Marxist movement are Georg Lukacs, Antonio Gramsci, Max Weber, Karl Korsch and others. To a lesser extent French existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre and Frankfurt School founders Max Horkheimer and Theodor W. Adorno contributed to the broader understanding of traditional Marxist theories. One of the driving forces for neo-Marxist and post-Marxist thought is the perceived inadequacies of conventional Marxist ideology in explaining and providing solutions to common politico-economic problems. For example, in the century and a half that has passed since Marxs original theoretical formulation, only a few violence-ridden revolutions have taken place – a fact that belies Marxs prophecies on communist revolutions. The establishment of socialist regimes at the end of such revolutions too have not lasted for long (barring the case of China). Even politically overhauling events such as the two world wars have not spurred the implementation of communist ideology in a meaningful manner. While the erstwhile Soviet Union was nominally a communist state, in reality it was a brutal dictatorship not hesitant to crack the whip on its own masses. In the case of China, which is considered the last bastion for Marxist