Die Entwicklung des Sozialismus von der Utopie zur Wissenschaft

Friedrich Engels wrote this pamphlet as a compact introduction to Marxism, drawn from his longer polemic Anti-Dühring. He traces how socialist ideas developed from the early utopians, Saint-Simon, Fourier, and Owen, who imagined ideal societies, toward the historical and economic analysis he and Marx put forward. He sets out dialectics, the materialist view of history, and the theory of surplus value, and argues that capitalism contains the contradictions that will lead to its replacement by collective ownership of the means of production.

It is aimed at students of political theory, history, and economics, and at anyone who wants a short primary source for what early Marxists believed. It remains a clear, argumentative starting point for those who want to read Marxism in its own words before turning to the heavier works.

Deep and outward-looking; a moderate read.

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