Marx, Tocqueville, and Race in America: The 'Absolute Democracy' or 'Defiled Republic'

Full Product Description

EAN: 9780739106785
Author: Jr. Nimtz, August H. Jr. Nimtz
Format: Paperback
Year: 2003
Publisher: Lexington Books
Pages: 314

Annotation
While Alexis de Tocqueville described America as the _absolute democracy,_ Karl Marx saw the nation as a _defiled republic_ so long as it permitted the enslavement of blacks. August J. Nimtz argues that Marx, unlike Tocqueville, not only recognized that the overthrow of slavery and the cessation of racial oppression were central to democracy's realization but was willing to act on these convictions. This potent and insightful investigation into the approaches of two major thinkers provides fresh insight into past and present debates about race and democracy in America. Publisher Description
While Alexis de Tocqueville described America as the "absolute democracy", karl Marx saw the nation as a "defiled republic" so long as it permitted the enslavement of blacks. In this political history, Mintz argues that marx and his partner Frederick Engels, had a far more acute and insightful reading of American democracy than Tocqueville because they recognized that the overthrow of slavery and the cessation of racial oppression were central to its realization. Nimtz's account contrasts both the writings and the civil action of Tocquevillem Marx and Engels, noting that Marx and Engels actively mobilized the German-American community in opposition to the slavocracy prior to the Civil War, and that Marx heavily supported the Union cause. This investigation into the approaches of two major thinkers provides fresh insight into past and present debates about race and democracy in America.