This volume compiles primary texts outlining the development of historical materialism and the critique of political economy. It tracks the shift from Young Hegelian philosophy to a structural analysis of class struggle and the internal contradictions of the capitalist mode of production. The selection includes the early manuscripts on alienated labor, the programmatic assertions of the Communist Manifesto, and technical excerpts from Capital regarding surplus value. The text demonstrates how material conditions and the ownership of the means of production dictate the legal, religious, and political superstructures of society.
Students of political science and sociology use this reader to analyze the mechanics of social change and industrial history. It serves as a foundational reference for those examining the relationship between labor power and capital accumulation. Readers acquire a technical vocabulary for discussing commodity fetishism and the historical progression from feudalism to the modern state. By the end, the reader understands the internal logic Marx and Engels used to predict the eventual transition to a socialist social structure through the organized action of the proletariat.
Deep and outward-looking; a demanding read.
Best for readers like The Deep Diver. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 1971
- Language
- EN
Quotes by Karl Marx
More →The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point is to change it.
Theses on Feuerbach
