Live Theory

Stanley Aronowitz was a towering figure on the American left for over sixty years. Both a tireless organizer and a militant social and political theorist, Aronowitz was a highly perceptive analyst of class power. He was dedicated throughout his career to the development and circulation of conceptual weapons for the working class and for all those who faced oppression within American society. Live Theory is a crucial introduction to an indispensable thinker, bringing together in thirteen seminal essays Aronowitz's theoretical contributions to fundamental questions regarding science, class, culture, and education, alongside his pioneering interventions on labor, contract unionism, and the struggle for radical democracy.Praise for Stanley Aronowitz: 'One of America's most prominent social theorists.'-The Brooklyn Rail 'Stanley Aronowitz is a national treasure.'- Peter McLaren, UCLA 'Stanley Aronowitz is the most important scholar on the past and present US working class.'-Cornel West 'Stanley was a distinguished scholar of labor, work, unions, class, education, American politics, and Marxism. [...] [False Promises] is the most wide-ranging exploration of working-class consciousness I've ever read. [...] A fighting left needs more people like him [...].'-Jamie McCallum, Jacobin 'Through his radical and relentless pursuit of knowledge and justice, Aronowitz provided a blueprint for living an intellectual life that matters to those of us who refuse to accept the status quo.'-Eric Weiner, Montclair State University

Stanley Aronowitz was a sociologist, labor organizer, and political activist. He taught at a number of higher education institutions-including the CUNY Graduate Center-and was a founder of multiple alternative educational projects, as well as the journals Social Text and Situations. His major works include The Crisis in Historical Materialism: Class, Politics, and Culture in Marxist Theory, False Promises: The Shaping of American Working Class Consciousness, and Against Schooling: For an Education That Matters.