Karl Marx
2nd Edition
Published on 7. October 2020
348 pages
978-1-000-15899-1 (ISBN)
Description
This is one of the most respected books on Marx's philosophical thought. Wood explains Marx's views from a philosophical standpoint and defends Marx against common misunderstandings and criticisms of his views. All the major philosophical topics in Marx's work are considered: the central concept of alienation; historical materialism and Marx's account of social classes; the nature and social function of morality; philosophical materialism and Marx's atheism; and Marx's use of the Hegelian dialectical method and the Marxian theory of value.
The second edition has been revised to include a new chapter on capitalist exploitation and new suggestions for further reading. Wood has also added a substantial new preface which looks at Marx's thought in light of the fall of the Soviet Union and our continued ambivalence towards capitalism, exploring Marx's continuing relevance in the twenty-first century.
The second edition has been revised to include a new chapter on capitalist exploitation and new suggestions for further reading. Wood has also added a substantial new preface which looks at Marx's thought in light of the fall of the Soviet Union and our continued ambivalence towards capitalism, exploring Marx's continuing relevance in the twenty-first century.
More details
Series
Edition
2nd edition
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
Reflowable
ISBN-13
978-1-000-15899-1 (9781000158991)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Person
Allen Wood is Professor of Philosophy at Stanford University. His previous publications include Kant's Moral Religion (1970), Kant's Rational Theology (1978), Hegel's Ethical Thought (1990), and Kant's Ethical Thought (1999).
Content
Preface to the Second Edition -- Biographical Sketch -- Introduction -- PART -- Alienation -- 1 The Concept of Alienation -- 1 The young Marx's 'theory' of alienation -- 2 What is 'alienation'? -- 3 Alienation and false consciousness -- 4 Alienation and practice -- 2 The Human Essence -- 1 The species being -- 2 Species consciousness and alienation -- 3 Self-actualization -- 4 Human essential powers -- 3 Human Production -- 1 Conscious life activity -- 2 Labor as self-affirmation -- 3 Objectification and appropriation -- 4 Alienation and Capitalism -- 1 The capitalist division of labor -- 2 Capitalism and freedom -- 3 Assessing Marx on capitalist alienation -- PART -- Historical Materialism -- 5 Production and Society -- 1 'Economic determinism' -- 2 Productive powers, production relations -- 3 A 'technological' theory of history? -- 4 Productive powers and historical development -- 6 Classes -- 1 Social relations, property relations -- 2 History and social classes -- 3 Class interests -- 4 Class struggles -- 7 Materialist Explanations -- 1 Historical materialism as an empirical hypothesis -- 2 Materialist explanations are teleological -- 3 Is Marx a historical teleologist? -- 8 Materialism, Agency and Consciousness -- 1 Is Marx a determinist? -- 2 Three senses of 'ideology' -- 3 Ideology and science -- PART -- Marxism and Morality -- 9 Marx on Right and Justice -- 1 Does Marxism have moral foundations? -- 2 Marx's concept of justice -- 3 Capitalism and commodity exchange -- 4 Capital exploits justly -- 10 Morality as Ideology -- 1 The social function of morality -- 2 Marxism and utilitarianism -- 3 Is Marx an immoralist? -- 4 Why should a Marxist be moral? -- 5 Marx's attitude toward morality, and our attitude -- PART -- Philosophical Materialism -- 11 Materialist Naturalism -- 1 What is materialism? -- 2 Marx's atheism -- 3 The essentiality of humanity and nature -- 12 Materialist Realism -- 1 Knowledge and practice -- 2 The contemplative attitude -- 3 Is Marx an idealist? -- PART -- The Dialectical Method -- 13 The Hegelian Dialectic -- 1 Hegel's vision of reality -- 2 Organic development or dialectic -- 3 Dialectic and formal logic -- 14 The Marxian Dialectic -- 1 The 'rational kernel' in the 'mystical shell' -- 2 'Inverting' Hegel -- 3 Reproducing the concrete in thought -- 15 Dialectic in Capital -- 1 The structure of 'Capital' -- 2 Values and production prices -- 3 The law of value -- 4 Value and exploitation -- 16 Capitalist Exploitation -- 1 What is exploitation? -- 2 The vulnerability of labor to capital -- 3 Capitalist apologetics about exploitation -- 4 What is bad about capitalist exploitation? -- 5 How to think about capitalist exploitation -- Concluding Remark -- Notes -- Some Further Reading -- Index
