Creative Soviet Marxism: Evald Ilyenkov and Dialectical Idealism

Levant and Oittinen's book, "Dialectics of the Ideal: Evald Ilyenkov and Creative Soviet Marxism," offers insight into the underground movement of innovative Soviet Marxism. This unique perspective emerged on the fringes of Soviet academia and has been largely overlooked by contemporary Western theory. E.V. Ilyenkov, a key figure in the post-Stalin era, introduces his 'activity approach,' making a significant contribution to a Marxist theory of the subject that resists reductionism. This should be of interest to modern theorists who aim to steer clear of economic and cultural reductionism, as well as the pitfalls of postmodern relativism.

The centerpiece of this book is Levant's translation of Ilyenkov's "Dialectics of the Ideal," which was not published until three decades after the author's untimely death in 1979. Contributors to this volume include Evald Ilyenkov, Tarja Knuuttila, Alex Levant, Andrey Maidansky, Vesa Oittinen, Paula Rauhala, and Birger Siebert.

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