Löwy's book is the first attempt to analyze, in a systematic way, how the theories of uneven and combined development, and of the permanent revolution &mdash inseparably linked &mdash emerged in the writings of thinkers such as Karl Marx and Leon Trotsky. Such radical reflections permit us to understand modern economic development across continents as a process of ferocious change, in which "advanced" and "backward" elements fuse, come into tension, and collide &mdash and how the resulting ruptures make it possible for the oppressed and exploited to change the world.
Drawing on the prescient insights of Leon Trotsky, Lowy explores the contradictions of global economic development.
"Thirty years ago Michael Löwy wrote a brilliant and accessible analysis of the emergence and application of Trotsky's theory of permanent revolution. This new edition of his book is even more relevant read in the context of the revolutionary uprisings in the Middle East today."
- Counterfire
"For newcomers and experienced scholars alike, the book serves as an effective short introduction to both the emergence of the [theory of permanent revolution], and it's longer-term consequences in the twentieth century."
- Marx and Philosophy Review of Books
"Reading The Politics of Combined and Uneven Development: The Theory of Permanent Revolution by Marxist sociologist/philosopher Michael Löwy was at first like trying to find my way through the Grand Canyon at night: with lost brainwaves traversing the echo-chasms of my mind, bouncing back and forth, unclaimed. But after a short season of intense acclamation to the Mensheviks, Bolsheviks, Bourgeoisie and Proletariat, I found myself secretly becoming a closet neo-Trotskyite. The book, first published in 1981 but shortened considerably for this latest version, is an in-depth look at Leon Trotsky's theory of permanent revolution and how it pertains to different Marxist revolutions through time."
- Karl Travis Chico News & Reviews
"A painstaking analysis of the opposing concepts of 'permanent revolution' and 'socialism in one country.'
- The American Historical Review
