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Marx and Engels: Their Contribution to the Democratic Breakthrough, by August H. Nimtz,Jr. Albany, NewYork: State University of NewYork Press, 2000. Paper, $23.95. Pp. xiii, 337.
With the recent increase in radical political activity the world over, Nimtz's book is very timely. Besides its value to the historian and political scientist, it is of great interest to progressive activists. It demonstrates in vivid detail the political activism of Marx and Engels, who devoted over four decades of their adult lives to changing the world.
Nimtz sets out to establish three main arguments: First, Marx and Engels were "the leading protagonists" in the democratic movement, which led to a "decisive breakthrough" in the 19th century. Second, Marx and Engels were able to contribute to the democratic breakthrough because they were above all devoted political activists, and not simply "thinkers," who constituted a revolutionary partnership. Third, their involvement in the struggles of 18481849 as communists gave them the necessary experience to become more effective in the fight for democracy (vii).
Related to these three arguments, Nimtz pursues many interesting issues, including Marx's and Engels' views on the role of peasants in the proletarian dictatorship and on gender equality. Political theorists will especially enjoy Nimtz's insightful comparison of the Marx-Engels team to Tocqueville. The nowadays celebrated theorist of democracy (Tocqueville) was apparently "on the other side of the barricades as an officer in the national guard and Minister of Foreign Affairs in one of the governments," fighting against democracy in France and...