| The works of Raya Dunayevskaya (1910-1987) have existed on the margins of "academic" Marxist philosophy. Over the course of her lifetime she painstakingly worked out a philosophy that she named Marxist Humanism; however, rigorous engagement with her ideas has held little sustained interest among Marxist scholars. This study argues Dunayevskaya's ideas and philosophy have contributed to the development of Marxist philosophy writ large and to the realization of a philosophy of freedom. In order to make this argument, I return to the formative period of Dunayevskaya's philosophical development and examine her writings, letters, and political activities between 1930-1955, with particular emphasis on her studies of Hegel, Marx, and Lenin.;The years covered in this study (1930-1955) span the development of state capitalist theory, the identification of non-worker/revolutionary subjectivities, and the return to Hegel as the source of Marx's dialectic. My reading of Dunayevskaya's works employs an objective/subjective, dialectical approach to her theoretical writings, co-written texts, and personal correspondence. The study concludes at the point when Dunayevskaya established a new organization, News and Letters, and began to project Marxist Humanism as theory and practice unified, that is, as a philosophy of revolution.;Over the course of nine chapters, I argue that Dunayevskaya is a critical thinker whose works make an important contribution to our understanding of both the historical development of capitalism and its form today. Basing herself in Marx's philosophy, Dunayevskaya sought to grasp the meaning of the Hegelian dialectic expressed through Absolute Negativity and its implications for revolutionary praxis. She generated the foundation for challenging the inhuman relations of capitalism and realizing a new human society, which she termed a New Beginning. That is the full implication of her work to recover Marx's humanism. |
