ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book focuses on K. Marx’s democratic philosophy and Friedrich Engels's view on the subject prior to his writings that generated the debate on his intellectual relation to Marx. The book investigates the lessons that take from Engels's failure to embrace negativity and the practical relevance of these lessons to our efforts to overcome the contemporary crisis. It analyses negativity, which is the key concept of dialectical thinking, and its connection to democracy, is an issue that has been neglected by the majority of the studies that have advanced radical theories of democracy. Negativity carries two meanings. First, that of human suffering, and second, our reaction against that suffering. Putting negativity at the fore-front of our democratic theory fully transforms our perspective of what is healthy, reasonable, rational and normal for a democracy.
