John Holloway: The Theory of Interstitial Revolution

In this chapter, I discuss Holloway’s theory of interstitial revolution. I start with an account of John Holloway’s life and intellectual trajectory over a forty-year period. Then, I present and examine several components of his theory of interstitial revolution, presented in his two books Change the World Without Taking Power. The meaning of revolution today (2002) and Crack Capitalism (2010). These are: Marxism as a theory of struggle; fetishization, form and totality; classification, class struggle and the revolutionary subject; doing, practical negativity and anti-power. I conclude that Holloway has turned the page to both a new Marxism and a new thinking about revolution. Both have their roots in a long-term process of theoretical development where Holloway found his own voice by collaborating with fellow critical theorists within the Conference of the Socialists Economists (UK), Open Marxism and the University of Puebla, Mexico. For critical theory as a critique of capital, Holloway’s work is ground breaking.