Karl Marx (Arguments of the Philosophers)
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £8.30
Get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade in Karl Marx (Arguments of the Philosophers) for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £8.30, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Product 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.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I can't say I've read all that much on Marx and picked up this second edition of Wood's Marx mainly due to my admiration of the things of his I've read on Kant.
I found this book wonderful: it is a philosophical Marx that is presented here and I found it very interesting and a delight to read. His analysis of alienation, the capacity of capatalism to adapt and continue to succeed, technology, and globalization are all fantastic and Wood makes Marx seem very relevant. Reading this book inspired me to read more Marx and the secondary literature as well as to go back to my Marcuse, Adorno, and Althusser. Brilliant. Keep the red flag flying.
I found this book wonderful: it is a philosophical Marx that is presented here and I found it very interesting and a delight to read. His analysis of alienation, the capacity of capatalism to adapt and continue to succeed, technology, and globalization are all fantastic and Wood makes Marx seem very relevant. Reading this book inspired me to read more Marx and the secondary literature as well as to go back to my Marcuse, Adorno, and Althusser. Brilliant. Keep the red flag flying.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Especially because so much secondary literature on Marx is terrible (unclear, obscurantist, barely bothering to quote the primary text), this book is a boon - the very opposite of all those flaws. If you're looking for a secondary text, and you need more than Jonathan Wolff's breezy introduction (Why Read Marx Today?) this is the first book to look at. One of the difficulties of reading Marx is that his ideas on any given subject are spread through a large number of books, essays, letters and notes; Wood's thematic arrangement makes this seem much more accesible, by giving you some idea of where Marx makes important statements on key topics.
As an undergraduate, I found that reading the relevant chapter or chapters of this book as my first step before addressing a topic was the most useful thing I could do. The book barely adresses any of the detail of the economics, being a philosophical examination, but chapter 15 'Dialectic in Capital' is nonetheless a very helpful introduction to what Marx is, and is not, trying to do.
His analysis of the topic of morality is perhaps a bit off key; but since, as always, he lays out so much original material, gathered from across the whole lifes' work of Marx and Engels, you can easily make your own mind up.
You can read the preface to this, the second edition, online at Wood's Stanford University homepage. It conveys something of Wood's obvious passionand sympathy for Marx, but also his keen critical sensibility - if he believes something is simply inconsistent, he says so, right out. Since there are no apolitical readings of Marx, let it be said that Wood's is a relatively libertarian, humanist one, and there's little Bolshevik, and no Stalinist inluence.
As an undergraduate, I found that reading the relevant chapter or chapters of this book as my first step before addressing a topic was the most useful thing I could do. The book barely adresses any of the detail of the economics, being a philosophical examination, but chapter 15 'Dialectic in Capital' is nonetheless a very helpful introduction to what Marx is, and is not, trying to do.
His analysis of the topic of morality is perhaps a bit off key; but since, as always, he lays out so much original material, gathered from across the whole lifes' work of Marx and Engels, you can easily make your own mind up.
You can read the preface to this, the second edition, online at Wood's Stanford University homepage. It conveys something of Wood's obvious passionand sympathy for Marx, but also his keen critical sensibility - if he believes something is simply inconsistent, he says so, right out. Since there are no apolitical readings of Marx, let it be said that Wood's is a relatively libertarian, humanist one, and there's little Bolshevik, and no Stalinist inluence.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
2 reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Not for the faint hearted!
7 July 2007
Format:Paperback
Wood delves deep into Marxist thought in an effort to find the truth of Marx's thought. Marx is defended by Wood from many common, and more commonly erroneous, interpretations of Marxist thought that has surfaced in the many years since Marx's thoughts became influential.
"Karl Marx" is a very well structured book, with the structure revolving around five major topics of Marx's work; alienation, historical materialism, Marx's thought on morality, philosophical materialism and the dialectical method.
As one of the most respected works on Marx's philosophical thought, you expect an in-depth, concise and authoritative book, and this is exactly what you get.
This book is very heavy in the philosophical content, if you haven't read much of Marx, then you will probably get bogged down in this advanced work, so there are probably easier-to-follow books out there to start on.
Overall this is a remarkable book, advanced and authoritative, it should be a prerequisite for anyone interested in a proper understanding of Marxism.
"Karl Marx" is a very well structured book, with the structure revolving around five major topics of Marx's work; alienation, historical materialism, Marx's thought on morality, philosophical materialism and the dialectical method.
As one of the most respected works on Marx's philosophical thought, you expect an in-depth, concise and authoritative book, and this is exactly what you get.
This book is very heavy in the philosophical content, if you haven't read much of Marx, then you will probably get bogged down in this advanced work, so there are probably easier-to-follow books out there to start on.
Overall this is a remarkable book, advanced and authoritative, it should be a prerequisite for anyone interested in a proper understanding of Marxism.
5 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Philosopher or Not
3 May 2002
Format:Paperback
Wood's review of Marx's theories is best summed up by the question of whether the German philosopher was just that. Certainly he obtained a doctorate in the field, but Wood contends that Marx was a commentator on the settings of the society in which he lived. Though the text is verbose at times, it is a good review of Marx's material in light of this unusual thesis. It examines in detail the early theory of alienation, though it considers the idea too vague to be of much use as it was originally composed. Commenting on Marx's other theories, Wood introduces once again his idea that Marx had no moral compuncture, contrary to commonly-held opinion. The difference between moral and non-moral lies in its ability to be quantified, nothing else. Ideas such as these pervade the text, cauing the reader to address his own perceptions of Marx. Not for the unitiated or shallow of mind.
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Business, Finance & Law > Economics
- Books > History > Political History > Marxism & Communism
- Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Academic Philosophy
- Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Government & Politics > Political Science & Ideology > Communism & Marxism
- Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Philosophy
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
