William E. Walling and the Pragmatist Foundations of Proto‐Western Marxism: A Re‐Evaluation and Critique

ABSTRACT This article reevaluates Walling as a neglected precursor to American Western Marxism, arguing that his 1912–1914 trilogy synthesized Marxist theory of his time and Deweyan pragmatism into a distinct “pragmatist conception of history.” Born into “aristocracy” yet radicalized, Walling's unique trajectory—as a co‐founder of the NAACP and critic of Second International orthodoxy—shaped his approach: a rejection of deterministic scientific history in favor of instrumental, presentist analysis limited to recent generations. Although his work anticipated Western Marxism's cultural turn and superstructural focus, it also embodied tensions between materialist foundations and pragmatist subjectivity. Through critical engagement with Walling's contradictions—his Deweyan compromise, Nietzschean anti‐historicism, and idealist leanings—the article reveals the limits of his project. Ultimately, Walling's legacy lies in his paradoxical role: a bridge between Second International economism and later Marxist humanism, whose flaws illuminate broader challenges in adapting Marxism and its readings.