Global Dialogue, Magazine of International Sociology Association

Sociological Marxism: What Remains to Be Done

Karl Marx and Karl Polanyi are key sources of inspiration for the sociological Marxism developed by Michael Burawoy together with his friend Erik Olin Wright. Marxism: roots, trunk, branches Burawoy understands Marxism as a living tradition; one rooted in the historical materialism, humanism and specific understanding of theory and practice of the young Marx. From these roots grew the great “trunk” of Marxism – the critique of political economy elaborated in Capital – from which, in turn, many branches have sprouted: German Marxism...

15.2

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Latest Issue. GD 15.2, August 2025

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Resisting Exploitation and Market Fundamentalism

by Brigitte Aulenbacher, Roland Atzmüller, Fabienne Décieux, Raphael Deindl, Karin Fischer, Johanna Grubner

Michael Burawoy’s sociology is Marxian, Polanyian and so much more. This article reflects on his most impressive and inspiring work, culminating in his analysis of twenty-first century market capitalism. Michael and Karl Marx The breadth and persistence of Michael’s work are difficult to summarize in just a few words: one might get lost in a bundle of intriguing trajectories. No wonder he described his long-standing engagement with the development of labor processes as the “Odyssey...

For Michael Burawoy: An Appreciation

by Nancy Fraser

All of us were shocked and dismayed by the news of Michael Burawoy’s tragic and senseless death. For me, that news also brought pangs of regret for missed opportunities. I had long admired Michael’s intellectual brilliance, political commitment, and personal warmth. But I had squandered the chance to develop a sustained relationship with him. In fact, we interacted only sporadically: first, at Northwestern University, in the mid 1990s, when he was a visiting professor and I was preparing to leave for the New School; and later, at a series of conferences and seminars, where we discussed...

Michael’s Public Sociology and the Attention Economy

by Ngai-Ling Sum, Bob Jessop

This piece is a tribute to Michael’s innovative and influential idea of “public sociology” and how this can be enhanced to address the attention economy and the post-truth Trump era. Theoretically, he distinguished Marx from Polanyi and attempted to synthesize and extend their work, especially on the three waves of marketization, when examining capitalism, commodification, exploitation, and inequalities. Michael, Marx, and Polanyi Michael regarded Marx as a theorist of capitalist exploitation in production who was mainly concerned with the first...

Michael Burawoy Unbound

by Heidi Gottfried

Michael’s graduate studies course on ethnography at the University of Wisconsin inspired my own initial research efforts to integrate feminism and the micro-foundations of a Gramscian Marxism in a study of “Flexibility as a Mode of Regulation in the Temporary Service Industry.” His inspiration extended well beyond the merely theoretical, providing practical support for my first ethnographic foray. Michael, who worked from home, became my dispatcher, conveying job placements from the temporary help agency. Thus, my contribution...

The Tree of Michael Burawoy’s Sociological Marxism

by Michelle Williams

The indefatigable spirit and exceptional mind of Michael Burawoy was taken from us on 3rd February 2025. The callous act of violence of a hit-and-run driver in Oakland, California, put to rest the legendary scholar. Michael was my MA and PhD supervisor between 1995 and 2005. After I left Berkeley and moved to South Africa, Michael visited regularly and over the years became a very close friend and remained a mentor throughout. He’s been one of my fiercest critics and most supportive allies. While I have tried to frame Michael’s contribution to sociology and Marxism over his prolific...

The Dialogue of Differences: Indigenous Ideas and Western Sociology

by Rajesh Misra

GD 15.2

The discussion around decoloniality and indigenous sociology gained popularity in the 1990s; however, from the beginning, sociology in India has emphasized the importance of indigenous concepts and viewpoints. This emphasis can be traced back to two contexts: firstly, the socio-political context, and secondly, the intellectual–ideological context. A sociology founded on the interplay between the freedom struggle and Western intellectual traditions The development of sociology as an academic discipline in India began in the early twentieth century, paralleling...

Everyday Practices of Sociology in India: Decolonizing in Retrospect

by Maitrayee Chaudhuri

GD 15.2

In India, the disciplines of sociology and anthropology, with their close but contested relationship, began when India was still a British colony. Linkages between colonialism and sociology in India are thus necessarily deep and complex. In recent decades, a body of scholarship on disciplinary histories as well as the relationship between anti-colonial thought and social theory has emerged. Locally within Indian sociology, however, there has been a much longer history of debate on the...

Sociology in South India

by Indira Ramarao

GD 15.2

The beginnings of sociology in south India can be traced to the second decade of the twentieth century. The history of sociology in south India is presented here divided into three time periods: 1900-1950, 1950-2000, and 2000-2024 (to date, at the time of writing). The regions covered are the five states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry. 1900-1950 The need to gain sociological insight to understand social phenomena germinated as early as the year 1915, when the Cambridge economist Gilbert Slater came to the...

Women in Indian Sociology: Feminist Contributions, Pedagogy, and Praxis

by Arvinder Ansari

GD 15.2

The evolution of Indian sociology has been deeply influenced by the intellectual legacies of colonialism, nationalism, and modernity. These historical processes favored certain ways of creating knowledge, which often aligned with patriarchal, Brahmanical, and Eurocentric views. Additionally, these historical processes frequently excluded alternative modes of knowledge and marginalized subaltern perspectives. Within these dominant structures, women were predominantly positioned as subjects of sociological study rather than as knowledge producers or theorists in their own right. Their roles were...

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