The Power of Negativity

Selected Writings on the Dialectic in Hegel and Marx by Raya Dunayevskaya
Edited by Peter Hudis and Kevin B. Anderson.

Lexington Books, 2001. 416 pp.
$24.95 + $4 postage

This extensive collection of writings on Hegel, Marx and dialectics captures Dunayevskaya’s original insight that, contrary to the prevailing view of Hegelians and Marxists, Hegel was of continuing importance to the theory and practice of Marxism. The Power of Negativity sheds light on the development of Marxist-Humanism, and also provides a fine introduction to one of America’s most penetrating and provocative critical thinkers.

Brilliant theorist, committed activist, and passionate scholar, Raya Dunayevskaya was a role model for my generation. We are fortunate to have her back in this wonderfully edited work…. In contrast to the boring pap of commodified culture and political sound bites, Raya’s interpretation makes the logic of Hegel’s absolute idea a fascinating and compelling read.—Susan Buck-Morss, Cornell University

Raya Dunayevskaya’s writings on Hegelian and Marxian dialectics are highly insightful and relevant to the theory and politics of the contemporary moment. Thus Peter Hudis and Kevin B. Anderson’s collection of some of her most important writings provide access to a valuable theoretical and political legacy.—Douglas Kellner, University of California, Los Angeles

With the writings of Raya Dunaveyskaya, the continent of revolutionary thought underwent a seismic shift, the world-historical reverberations of which we are still feeling today and which continue to grow stronger in this new millennium as the crisis of world capitalism intensifies. — Peter McLaren, University of California, Los Angeles