Ian Cummins – författare

While their attempts to understand the workings of capitalism led them to the conclusion that the advanced societies of Western Europe were those most likely to be the setting for a successful socialist revolution, Marx and Engels by no means ignored developments outside this region. Indeed, given the configurations of international politics in their time, plus their conception of capitalism as a universalising system, they believed that some of the forces working for change in less advanced regions could even affect the prospects of a proletarian revolution in Western Europe itself. This book, first published in 1980, traces the development of Marx and Engels’ attitudes towards, and relations with, the principal national movements of their time. It deals with their responses to such movements in areas as diverse as Ireland and India, Poland and China, and Russia and the United States, as well as in many other regions. Many of Max and Engels’ most significant statements on the national question were made in their journalism, occasional addresses and private correspondence – sources not always readily accessible to, or even known by, some of their more immediate successors. Subsequent publication of this previously-dispersed material has enabled a more coherent picture of their ideas on the subject to be drawn. Marx and Engels believed that national aspirations and the cause of socialism did not always go hand in hand and each national struggle had to be examined on its merits and judged according to whether its success would retard or enhance the prospects of a socialist revolution. Based on a wide range of sources, this study examines an important, yet neglected, area of Marx and Engels’ ideas and activities, and indicates the criteria by which they determined their attitudes at different times to a variety of national movements at work in four continents.

While their attempts to understand the workings of capitalism led them to the conclusion that the advanced societies of Western Europe were those most likely to be the setting for a successful socialist revolution, Marx and Engels by no means ignored developments outside this region. Indeed, given the configurations of international politics in their time, plus their conception of capitalism as a universalising system, they believed that some of the forces working for change in less advanced regions could even affect the prospects of a proletarian revolution in Western Europe itself. This book, first published in 1980, traces the development of Marx and Engels’ attitudes towards, and relations with, the principal national movements of their time. It deals with their responses to such movements in areas as diverse as Ireland and India, Poland and China, and Russia and the United States, as well as in many other regions. Many of Max and Engels’ most significant statements on the national question were made in their journalism, occasional addresses and private correspondence – sources not always readily accessible to, or even known by, some of their more immediate successors. Subsequent publication of this previously-dispersed material has enabled a more coherent picture of their ideas on the subject to be drawn. Marx and Engels believed that national aspirations and the cause of socialism did not always go hand in hand and each national struggle had to be examined on its merits and judged according to whether its success would retard or enhance the prospects of a socialist revolution. Based on a wide range of sources, this study examines an important, yet neglected, area of Marx and Engels’ ideas and activities, and indicates the criteria by which they determined their attitudes at different times to a variety of national movements at work in four continents.

Critical Psychiatry outlines the history of a group of thinkers that has come to be known as the anti-psychiatry movement. Though it has been called a movement, the individual thinkers’ and authors’ ideas were often in conflict but what they share is a critical perspective on psychiatry as a discipline and institutionalised modes of care.

The current crisis in mental health services means that it is time to examine once again the key themes of critical psychiatry. The excesses of the 1960s radicalism have meant that these themes - with an emphasis on the individual dignity of all those involved in mental health services - have been lost. These need to be rediscovered as part of a solution to current difficulties but also as the starting point for a new model of service provision.

Critical Psychiatry is a history of ideas. It provides a critical evaluation of key thinkers and the application of their work to contemporary mental health service settings.

Critical Psychiatry outlines the history of a group of thinkers that has come to be known as the anti-psychiatry movement. Though it has been called a movement, the individual thinkers’ and authors’ ideas were often in conflict but what they share is a critical perspective on psychiatry as a discipline and institutionalised modes of care.

The current crisis in mental health services means that it is time to examine once again the key themes of critical psychiatry. The excesses of the 1960s radicalism have meant that these themes - with an emphasis on the individual dignity of all those involved in mental health services - have been lost. These need to be rediscovered as part of a solution to current difficulties but also as the starting point for a new model of service provision.

Critical Psychiatry is a history of ideas. It provides a critical evaluation of key thinkers and the application of their work to contemporary mental health service settings.