Paul Mattick

About the Author

Paul Mattick (1904-1981) was a prominent Marxist theorist and economist whose incisive writings challenged orthodox communist doctrines and illuminated the contradictions of capitalism. Born in Germany to a working-class family, he became involved in radical politics during his youth, later emigrating to the United States where he worked as a machinist and contributed to various leftist publications. Mattick's analyses, rooted in the council communist tradition, critiqued both Bolshevik authoritarianism and mainstream socialism, advocating for decentralized worker control and a rigorous critique of economic structures. His lifelong commitment to revolutionary theory influenced generations of anti-authoritarian thinkers, emphasizing the need for genuine proletarian emancipation over state-centric models of socialism.