Papers by Matthew Birkhold
This dissertation examines the development and implementation of revolutionary ideas and philosop... more This dissertation examines the development and implementation of revolutionary ideas and philosophy in Detroit's black power movement from 1954-1972. Utilizing a
A theoretical review of "Pages From a Black Radical's Notebook: A James Boggs Reader
Race/Ethnicity: Multidisciplinary Global Contexts, Jan 1, 2011
Illustrating why and how James Boggs and Karl Marx
understood capitalism and revolution different... more Illustrating why and how James Boggs and Karl Marx
understood capitalism and revolution differently, this essay
examines the historical development of capitalism within
the United States, specifically in Detroit. Showing that many
constituting aspects of what Marx understood as the historical
tendency of capitalist accumulation existed within the
United States, I also show that racism has been a constituting
element of accumulation’s historical tendency in the United
States. Consequently, the explanatory usefulness of Marxist
praxis toward historically understanding capitalism and revolution within the United States is limited. James Boggs
understood this racial limitation of Marxism and produced
a theory of revolution responding to Marxism’s limitations.
Because James Boggs wrote The American Revolution in a
period designated by U.S. hegemony over the world-system,
he observed that capitalist accumulation exhibited a very different historical tendency than that observed by Marx. While
the period of capitalism described by Marx demonstrated an
historical tendency toward increasing levels of misery amongst working people, increased numbers of production
workers, and proletarian revolution, in what I refer to as
the period of U.S. hegemony, according to Boggs, capitalism
demonstrated a historical tendency toward increased
consumption by working people, decreasing numbers of
production workers, and black revolution.
Teaching Documents by Matthew Birkhold
Books by Matthew Birkhold
Rod Bush: Lessons from a Radical Black Scholar on Liberation, Love, and Justice, 2019
Roderick Douglas Bush (1945–2013) was a scholar, educator, mentor, activist and a loving human be... more Roderick Douglas Bush (1945–2013) was a scholar, educator, mentor, activist and a loving human being. In reflecting on his life well-lived, the contributors in Rod Bush: Lessons from a Radical Black Scholar on Liberation, Love, and Justice share insightful lessons from his life and works on how to effect liberation and radical social transformation in the everyday practices of scholarship, teaching, activism, and personal interaction through a loving spirit dedicated to social justice. Rod Bush was deeply convinced that “Pan-European racism is the Achilles’ heel of the modern world-system, and the demographic situation of the United States, with its large, strategically located populations of color, is a key locus of struggle for a more just, democratic, and egalitarian world order.” This book shows by the example of Rod Bush how one can “be the change”—through a commitment to everyday practices and personal transformations that embody, enable, embrace, and engage global social change.
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Papers by Matthew Birkhold
understood capitalism and revolution differently, this essay
examines the historical development of capitalism within
the United States, specifically in Detroit. Showing that many
constituting aspects of what Marx understood as the historical
tendency of capitalist accumulation existed within the
United States, I also show that racism has been a constituting
element of accumulation’s historical tendency in the United
States. Consequently, the explanatory usefulness of Marxist
praxis toward historically understanding capitalism and revolution within the United States is limited. James Boggs
understood this racial limitation of Marxism and produced
a theory of revolution responding to Marxism’s limitations.
Because James Boggs wrote The American Revolution in a
period designated by U.S. hegemony over the world-system,
he observed that capitalist accumulation exhibited a very different historical tendency than that observed by Marx. While
the period of capitalism described by Marx demonstrated an
historical tendency toward increasing levels of misery amongst working people, increased numbers of production
workers, and proletarian revolution, in what I refer to as
the period of U.S. hegemony, according to Boggs, capitalism
demonstrated a historical tendency toward increased
consumption by working people, decreasing numbers of
production workers, and black revolution.
Teaching Documents by Matthew Birkhold
Books by Matthew Birkhold
understood capitalism and revolution differently, this essay
examines the historical development of capitalism within
the United States, specifically in Detroit. Showing that many
constituting aspects of what Marx understood as the historical
tendency of capitalist accumulation existed within the
United States, I also show that racism has been a constituting
element of accumulation’s historical tendency in the United
States. Consequently, the explanatory usefulness of Marxist
praxis toward historically understanding capitalism and revolution within the United States is limited. James Boggs
understood this racial limitation of Marxism and produced
a theory of revolution responding to Marxism’s limitations.
Because James Boggs wrote The American Revolution in a
period designated by U.S. hegemony over the world-system,
he observed that capitalist accumulation exhibited a very different historical tendency than that observed by Marx. While
the period of capitalism described by Marx demonstrated an
historical tendency toward increasing levels of misery amongst working people, increased numbers of production
workers, and proletarian revolution, in what I refer to as
the period of U.S. hegemony, according to Boggs, capitalism
demonstrated a historical tendency toward increased
consumption by working people, decreasing numbers of
production workers, and black revolution.