The Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844 and the Communist Manifesto

by Karl Marx

Book Overview

Communism as a political movement attained global importance after the Bolsheviks toppled the Russian Czar in 1917. After that time the works of Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, especially the influential Communist Manifesto (1848), enjoyed an international audience. The world was to learn a new political vocabulary peppered with "socialism," "capitalism," "the working class," "the bourgeoisie," "labor theory of value," "alienation," "economic determinism,"...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 087975446X
• ISBN13: 9780879754464
• Release Date: March 1988
• Publisher: Prometheus Books
• Length: 248 Pages
• Weight: 0.78 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

A Classic of Marxism

You don't have to agree with Marx to appreciate this book. Inside you will find a concise collection of his writings that speak to the heart of the Marxists idea of economics. Compelling, controversial, and even flat out wrong - the challenge of Marxism is one that all serious thinkers about economics must face at some point - whether we agree with it or not. This small volume serves as a very useful introduction to the thoughts of Karl Marx.

The Blueprint for Economic Democracy

Many people have sounded the Death Knell of Marx with the fall of the Eastern Bloc in the 80's and 90's. Many who have been interested in Marx read 'The Communist Manifesto' an admitedly dated work and never go beyond it. It must be remembered the Manifesto was a simplified form of practical ideas printed to drive the working class to action. Marx was a student of Hegel, a notoriously difficult and deep philosopher to understand, but it shaped Marx to a degree that few understand. Marx was more than an economic philoshpher, he was an astute observer of psychology, sociology and anthropology. All of his philosophy shines in clarity in the Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844. Of all of Marx's works we see most the thesis and theory devised from his understanding of the human condition through historical analysis. This work is the most accessable, easily understood work by this great thinker. If you have the desire to truly understand a major influence for the framework of many socialized democracies of modern Europe, the drives for nationhood and equality that rocked Europe in revolt in 1848 or desire to truly understand the whole theory of Marx this small book is an absolute must. Marx was a both a materialist and process theorist in philosophical terms. His later socio-econmic works were a sort of working blueprint based upon the historical, psyhcological, sociolgoical, economic and anthropologic theories laid down in this work.

Essential Marxism

With the crumbling of the Berlin Wall--symbolizing for many the end of the relevance of Marx's political theory--and the veering toward a "third way" (read, neo-liberal way) in various Western European countries by formerly avowed socialist parties, Marxism, and its brand of socialism, is now universally assumed to be an historical artifact, and maybe neither a very interesting nor productive one at that. "The Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844" offers a point of rebuttal to those neo-liberals and their quick-handed assumptions that the totality of Marx's theory can be gleaned from The Communist Manifesto, a work written with the intention of motivating political action. The "Manuscripts" is an essential read for those seeking Marx's revlevancy in the 21st century.

ESSENTIAL READING FOR ANY STUDENT OF MARXISM.

THE ECONOMIC AND PHILOSOPHIC MANUSCRIPTS MAY NOT BE HIS MOST COMPLEX OR INFLUENTIAL BOOK, BUT IT CONTAINS THE GENESIS OF COMMUNISM AND MARXIST IDEOLOGY. IT CLEARLY SHOWS THE PLIGHT OF THE WORKING MAN,CLASS DISTINCTIONS AND ALIENATION. THIS IS NOT A UTOPIAN MESSAGE, IT IS REALITY, JUST AS RELEVANT TODAY AS WHEN IT WAS WRITTEN. IF YOU DESPISE CAPITALISM AND WANT TO TAKE ACTION AGAINST IT AND IT'S VANGUARDS, READ THIS BOOK AND YOU WILL BE CONSCIOUS OF ALTERNATIVES TO THIS RIGID SOCIO-ECONOMIC AMERICAN SYSTEM. YOU WILL BE AWAKENED AND UNDERSTAND THAT COMMUNISM IS NOT EVIL, IN FACT, IT IS AN IDEAL SYSTEM FOR 90% OF THE NATIONS INHABITANTS.

Marx's true theory

Karl Marx. His ideas have been interpreted and reinterpreted time and time again. Lenin, Trotsky, Mao, Luxembourg, Debs, and countless others have used him, some of them more faithfully than others. Most people see Marx as the older Capital Marx. Yet these manuscripts show his true spirit, his devotion to mankind, and why democracy cannot be accomplished without communism. Marx here convincingly shows why capitalism alienates man from man and why equality cannot be accomplished under it. These texts are easily ten times more important than Capital. You can see the youth in this book, the yearning for a better society, and a man with the ideas to do so. If you are opposed to communism, read this book before making any more denouncements. If you believe, this book will show you that Marx was truly for mankind, that he had very little to do with the so-called communist countries today. Also included are a work by Engels attacking the other forms of socialism, all of which are undemocratic socialism-from-above. Finally, the Communist Manifesto is included, for those who want to see a concise outline of what communism is really about