Written during periods of radical activity in the tumultuous twentieth century, these essays by Paul Mattick have lost none of their urgency.

The themes addressed in this collection—the devastation of war-torn areas and the abject destitution to which beleaguered populations are subjected, the authoritarian character of ostensibly democratic regimes, the ecological disasters that increasingly beset the world, the rationale behind and limits to governmental efforts to stimulate and stabilize the economy, and Mattick’s assessment of economic theorizing within the Marxian tradition —are still relevant for us today. The essays combine contemporary commentary with theoretical analysis and represent some of the finest work Mattick produced.