The Gramscian Challenge: Coercion And Consent In Marxist-Political Theory.

How far does the 'dictatorship of the proletariat' differ from the 'dull compulsion' of capitalist social relations described in Das Kapital?

John Hoffman's focus on the twin concepts of coercion and consent allows him to come to grips with Gramsci's contribution to
Marxist theory - particularly as revealed in the pages of his Prison Notebooks - and throws into sharp relief the break between
classical Marxism and the political concepts of the Enlightenment. Hoffman's unique study of this central issue touches
critically upon the insights of a wide range of writers in the Marxist tradition - Rosa Luxemburg; Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin,
Kautsky, and Mao as well as Gramsci and draws upon the world's real experience of socialism - examining, for example, the
politics of the USSR and the experience of Popular Unity in Chile.

This is an important book for all those interested in Marxism and socialism, and will be of particular relevance to students of
political theory, sociology and philosophy.