ABSTRACT
Given the failure of many of Marx’s predictions, the rise of Stalinism, the crisis of Marxism itself, many have asked what is living and what is dead in Marx? Answering such a question requires a profound knowledge of Marxian theory. I don’t believe that the question can be answered by composing a list of ideas or propositions from Marx’s work that one finds living or dead. What is living in Marx does not allow such an approach. In this entry I simply want to lay out the approach to Marxism and Marxian theory developed by Herbert Marcuse. Marcuse’s form of Critical Theory saves Marxism and Marxian theory and shows that it is still the correct theory of capitalism while at the same time subjecting Marxism and Marxian theory to a transformative critique. Marcuse believed that as a historical theory Marxism was capable of correcting itself in response to new historical circumstances. I will argue that two key developments in Marcuse’s revised Marxism are his synthesis of Marx and Freud, and his expanded view of revolution.
