Stephen Resnick, Rest in Peace

AMHERST - Stephen A. Resnick, a professor emeritus of economics at the University of Massachusetts who won the school's distinguished teaching award and is best known for his piercing critiques of capitalism, died Wednesday after a bout with leukemia. He was 74.

FULL OBITUARY

Along with his colleague Richard Wolff, Stephen Resnick pioneered an entire approach to Marxist theory generally referred to as 'postmodern Marxism.' Put briefly, this school of thought draws its inspiration from Louis Althusser's synthesis of Freud's theory of overdetermination with dialectical materialism, and further incorporates Richard Rorty's critique of essentialism into Marxian analysis. The academic journal Rethinking Marxism, co-founded by Resnick, best exemplifies this tradition today.

I was heavily influenced by Wolff and Resnick's revision of Marx for several years, but have recently started to reconsider my epistemological beliefs and now lean more towards positivist conceptions of Marxism. Nevertheless, I retain a great deal of admiration for Resnick's contributions to Marxian theory, and I highly recommend his books and the online course he produced (available in our Educational Videos thread) to every member of the forum.

I'm saddened to learn of his passing. The U.S. cannot afford to lose Marxist academics of his caliber.