Marx

In this outstanding introduction to Marx's philosophy Jaime Edwards and Brian Leiter begin with an overview of Marx's life and intellectual development. It is an indispensable introduction to Marx's philosophy, and will also be useful to those in related disciplines such as politics, sociology, history and economics. Cover Endorsement Page Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents Preface and Acknowledgments Chapter 1: Life, Work, and Intellectual Development 1. An Overview of Marx’s Key Ideas A. Historical Materialism B. Class Conflict C. Capitalism D. Ideology E. Human Nature and the Good Life 2. Marx’s Early Life 3. Intellectual Influences on the Young Marx: Hegel, Feuerbach, Bauer A. Holism B. Teleology and Dialectic C. Progressivism 4. Marx in the 1840s: Journalism, Politics, Persecution 5. Marx in Exile in London A. Political Organizer B. Political Commentator C. Economic Theorist Notes Further Reading Chapter 2: Marx’s Theory of History: Historical Materialism and the Hegelian Background 1. Historical Materialism: Forces of Production (Productive Power), Relations of Production, Ideological Superstructure 2. Hegel’s Theory of History and Historical Materialism 3. Functional Explanation in Historical Materialism 4. Functional Explanation and Class Struggle 5. The “Materialism” in Historical Materialism 6. Is Historical Materialism True? 7. Conclusion Notes Further Reading Chapter 3: Class Conflict, the State, and the Communist Revolution 1. Class in General 2. The Ruling Class 3. The Proletariat and Revolution 4. The “Classless” Society A. The Two Phases of Communism B. Skepticism about the “Higher Phase” of Communism C. After Capitalism: Freedom from Necessity 5. Conclusion Notes Further Reading Chapter 4: Marx’s Economics and the Collapse of Capitalism 1. Introduction 2. The Origins of the Labor Theory of Value in Smith and Ricardo 3. Marx’s Labor Theory of Value 4. Where Does Profit Come From? 5. Exploitation, Justice, and Private Property 6. The Fetishism of Commodities 7. The Self-Destruction of Capitalism A. Tendency of the Rate of Profit to Fall B. Immiseration and Underconsumption C. Will Capitalism Collapse? D. The Elysium Scenario 8. Conclusion: Marxian Economics without the Labor Theory of Value Notes Further Reading Chapter 5: Ideology 1. The Narrow Account: Ideology Critique as a Critique of “Sociological Idealism” 2. The Extended Account: Ideology as the Expression of Class Interests 3. The Function (and Varieties) of Ideological Belief A. Core Cases of Ideologies B. Distraction Ideologies C. Interests 4. Explaining Ideological Mistakes 5. Marxist Accounts of the Concept of Ideology after Marx 6. Conclusion Notes Further Reading Chapter 6: Human Nature and the Good Life: The Public/Private Distinction and Alienation in Marx’s Early Writings 1. “On the Jewish Question” (1843) and the Public/Private Distinction A. Freedom B. Money and Value 2. The 1844 Manuscripts and the Idea of Alienation A. Four Kinds of Alienation B. Private Property, Alienation, and Communism C. What Is So Bad about Alienation? 3. Conclusion Notes Further Reading Chapter 7: Legacy and Influence 1. Engels 2. The Second International and Its Theoreticians 3. Lenin and the Nominally Marxist 20th-Century Revolutions 4. The Birth of Western Marxism: Lukács and Gramsci 5. Western Marxism: The Frankfurt School 6. Althusser 7. Analytical Marxism 8. Feminist Extensions of Marx 9. Marx after the “Great Recession” of 2008 10. Conclusion Notes Glossary Bibliography Marx and Engels Other Primary Philosophical and Economic Texts Secondary and Other Literature Index The writings of Karl Marx (1818–1883) have left an indelible mark not only on the understanding of economics and political thought but on the lives of millions of people who lived in regimes that claimed (wrongly) his influence. Trained as a philosopher and steeped in the thought of Hegel, Marx turned away from Hegelian philosophy after 1845 towards a philosophy that incorporated economics and history. It is this Marx that endures and to which this outstanding introduction is devoted.Jaime Edwards and Brian Leiter begin with an overview of Marx's life and intellectual development, including his early years as a journalist in Germany before his exile in London. They then introduce and assess the fundamental elements of Marx's thought: Marx's theory of history and historical change (historical materialism) class conflict, the state, and the Communist revolution Marx's theory of economics, especially the labour theory of value, and his prediction of the collapse of capitalism the nature and role of ideology in Marx's thought Marx's theory of human nature and the good life, including his arguments concerning alienation Marx's legacy and influence, including Western Marxism, the Frankfurt School, and “feminist Marxism”. Including annotated further reading suggestions at the end of each chapter and a glossary of technical terms, this is an indispensable introduction to Marx's philosophical thought. It will also be extremely useful to those in related disciplines such as politics, sociology, history, and political economy.