Fundamental Problems of Marxism
1941, this copy owned and signed by architect & planner, Graeme Shankland
Author
Publisher
Printing Details
Reprint. Paperback. 19.5 × 13.5cm, 145pp.
This copy was owned and signed by Graeme Shankland (1917–1984), an architect, town planner, and Communist who didn't care too much for the old Victorian townscapes, but created enormous programmes of renewal in ‘outworn’ Victorian city centres (his plan for Liverpool was apparently incredibly brutal, earning him the sobriquet 'the Butcher of Liverpool' from fellow architects and conservationists. He also drew up plans for Hook in Hampshire, but local opposition successfully thwarted these plans.
This 1944 edition of Fundamental Problems of Marxism presents the final major work of G.V. Plekhanov, the man widely regarded as the 'Father of Russian Marxism.' While Plekhanov eventually became a political rival to Lenin (siding with the Mensheviks), his theoretical brilliance was so undeniable that Lenin famously insisted one could not become a 'real Communist' without studying him. This specific volume serves as a high-level defense of dialectical materialism against the 'vulgar' interpretations of the time. Interestingly, when the first edition was published in 1908, it was given a deliberately dry, academic title to sneak past the Tsar’s censors—a ruse that worked so well it became a foundational text for the very revolutionaries who would eventually topple the monarchy.
Condition
Fair condition. The covers are tanned to the edges and bumped to the spine. There is some creasing to the the pages but it remains in good readable condition.
Books are currently zero-rated for duty (as of January 2026), so the price shown is the price you pay.
Price
£25.00
