Marx and Ethics

This text traces the development of Marx's ethics as they underwent various shifts and changes during different periods of his life. In his early writings, his ethics are based on a concept of essence much like Aristotle's which Marx tries to link to a principle of universalization similar to Kant's "categorical imperative". In the period 1845-6, Marx abandoned this view, holding morality to be incompatible with his historical materialism. In his later writings, Marx is less of a determinist and he no longer wants to reject morality, but he does want to transcend a morality of obligation and constraint so as to realize a community built upon spontaneous bonds of solidarity.