'Men make history, but . . . they do not make it in the circumstances chosen by themselves' (Marx). Making History is about the question, central to social theory, of how human beings and their 'circumstances' – above all social structures – are related. Drawing on classical Marxism, analytical philosophy, and recent historical writing, it seeks to avoid two unacceptable extremes – that of dissolving human subjects into social structures (for example, post-structuralism), and that of individual action, as many of the new school of 'analytical Marxists' do.
Among those discussed are Althusser, Anderson, Cohen, Elster, Foucault, Giddens and Habermas. Alex Callinicos elaborates his account of social structure and human agency by considering recent developments in historical sociology, notably the work of Brenner and Mann, and by offering an extended commentary on Walter Benjamin's Theses on the Philosophy of History.
Making History will be welcomed by students in social and political theory, sociology, politics and Marxist theory.
Charlotte y Peter Fiell son dos autoridades en historia, teoría y crítica del diseño y han escrito más de sesenta libros sobre la materia, muchos de los cuales se han convertido en éxitos de ventas. También han impartido conferencias y cursos como profesores invitados, han comisariado exposiciones y asesorado a fabricantes, museos, salas de subastas y grandes coleccionistas privados de todo el mundo. Los Fiell han escrito numerosos libros para TASCHEN, entre los que se incluyen 1000 Chairs, Diseño del siglo XX, El diseño industrial de la A a la Z, Scandinavian Design y Diseño del siglo XXI.