Marxism is a body of theory that emanated from and was crafted for social movements. Yet, paradoxically, it does not contain a theory that specifically explains the emergence, character and development of social movements. This article works towards the formulation of a Marxist theory of social movements. Grounded in Marx's philosophical anthropology, it argues for an ontological conception of social movements, and outlines a series of concepts for the analysis of the collective action of dominant and subaltern groups as ‘social movements from above’ and ‘social movements from below’ in the historical processes that animate the making and unmaking of social structures.
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