Das Argument: Zeitschrift für Philosophie und Sozialwissenschaften (English: The Argument: Journal for Philosophy and Social Sciences) is a German academic journal

Academic journal

An academic journal is a peer-reviewed periodical in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as forums for the introduction and presentation for scrutiny of new research, and the critique of existing research...

. It was established in 1959 as an independent West German

West Germany

West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....

 journal of predominantly Marxist

Marxism

Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...

 orientation. It appears six times a year.

History

The journal emerged from the protests against West German remilitarization. Since 1959, the editor in chief

Editor in chief

An editor-in-chief is a publication's primary editor, having final responsibility for the operations and policies. Additionally, the editor-in-chief is held accountable for delegating tasks to staff members as well as keeping up with the time it takes them to complete their task...

 has been the Marxist philosopher

Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

 Wolfgang Fritz Haug

Wolfgang Fritz Haug

Wolfgang Fritz Haug was from 1979 till his retirement in 2001 professor of philosophy at the Free University Berlin, where he had also studied romance languages and religious studies and taken his PhD .Haug coined the term commodity aestheticism...

 (Free University of Berlin

Free University of Berlin

Freie Universität Berlin is one of the leading and most prestigious research universities in Germany and continental Europe. It distinguishes itself through its modern and international character. It is the largest of the four universities in Berlin. Research at the university is focused on the...

). Das Argument is published by the Berlin Institute of Critical Theory (InkriT).

Scope

Each issue of the journal is devoted to a specific theme (e.g., in 2006 these have been "American Vistas", "Politics of Literature", "Female Migrants", "Thinking History Globally" and "Big Contradiction China"). The journal contains a substantial review section which is also derived from the original Zeitschrift für Sozialforschung.
Among the topics covered are:

• Philosophy
  Philosophy
  Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
  
   and Critical Theory
  Critical theory
  Critical theory is an examination and critique of society and culture, drawing from knowledge across the social sciences and humanities. The term has two different meanings with different origins and histories: one originating in sociology and the other in literary criticism...
  
  
• Plural Marxism, Western Marxism
  Western Marxism
  Western Marxism is a term used to describe a wide variety of Marxist theoreticians based in Western and Central Europe, in contrast with philosophy in the Soviet Union...
  
  , Open Marxism
  Open Marxism
  Open marxism is a "school" of Marxism which draws on anarchist critiques of Party communism and stresses the openness to praxis and to history, the "practical reflexivity" of Marx's own concepts. The "openness" in Open Marxism also refers to a non-deterministic view of history in which the...
  
  , Marxist feminism
  Marxist feminism
  Marxist feminism is a sub-type of feminist theory which focuses on the dismantling of capitalism as a way of liberating women. Marxist feminism states that private property, which gives rise to economic inequality, dependence, political confusion, and ultimately unhealthy social relations between...
  
  
• Critical History
  Historiography
  Historiography refers either to the study of the history and methodology of history as a discipline, or to a body of historical work on a specialized topic...
  
  , analysis of capitalism
  Capitalism
  Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
  
  , neoliberalism
  Neoliberalism
  Neoliberalism is a market-driven approach to economic and social policy based on neoclassical theories of economics that emphasizes the efficiency of private enterprise, liberalized trade and relatively open markets, and therefore seeks to maximize the role of the private sector in determining the...
  
  /neoliberal mode of production
  Mode of production
  In the writings of Karl Marx and the Marxist theory of historical materialism, a mode of production is a specific combination of:...
  
   and way of life
• Social Sciences
  Social sciences
  Social science is the field of study concerned with society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences usually exclusive of the administrative or managerial sciences...
  
  
• Social theory
  Social theory
  Social theories are theoretical frameworks which are used to study and interpret social phenomena within a particular school of thought. An essential tool used by social scientists, theories relate to historical debates over the most valid and reliable methodologies , as well as the primacy of...
  
  , capitalist globalization, transnational class analysis
• Fascism theory, Ideology theory, culture theory
  Culture theory
  Culture theory is the branch of anthropology and semiotics that seeks to define the heuristic concept of culture in operational and/or scientific terms....
  
  
• Literary science
• History of the labor movement
• Ecology
  Ecology
  Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...