Karl Marx: Selected Writings [Paperback]

This is an excellent selection of the writings of Karl Marx. This includes many writings which do not make it into the usual Marx/Engels Readers; Writings including Marx's Letters, his criticism of Bakunin, more writings on economics than in the usual Reader, and so on. One flaw of it, though, is that it does not contain the later writings of Engels writen after Marx's death. I suppose this is to be expected; It is after all *Marx's* writings, not Engels. However, the loss does not affect it much, and the book is still one of the most valuable tomes of Marxism I've bought. I'd recommend anyone interested in the thought of Karl Marx to get this book; If one is interested in both the writings of Marx and Engels, I'd recommend they get this book and the Marx/Engels Reader to supplement it. I have both, and both are fascinating.

This selection of Marx's works edited by McClellan is wide enough to enable one to determine Marx's importance as a political thinker. Engels forever saw Marx's central achievement as "scientific socialism", but Marxism is not a science for its predictions are inaccurate. Marx wrongly predicted that workers would remain close to subsistence level, with many reduced to "pauperism". He was wrong to predict inexorably falling profits. He thought society would divide into just two classes but failed to see the rise of the managerial class and white collar workers in general. He predicted revolutions in advanced countries, but revolutions have been in backward countries such as Russia and China and Marxist only in name.

If Engels was wrong did Marx contribute anything of lasting significance? What about historical materialism? Engels compared Marx's "law of development of human history" with Darwin's "law of development of organic nature." The theory supposes that economic relations provide the substructure of society which determines the nature of the "superstructure", i.e. the law, form of government, culture etc. The theory of the dialectic used in this way has been discredited, and too many of Marx's followers adopted a crude economic determinism. However, a refined historical materialism helps us to understand that many institutions, ideas and events are at least influenced by economic matters. The European Reformation and the English Civil War are among events illuminated by the kernel of truth in historical materialism.

The theory of the class struggle is inextricably interwoven with historical materialism, for it is through the class struggle that history unfolds. Much of what Marx wrote on class in now seen as defunct, and critics disagree with Marx's use of class primarily as an economic group. However, Marx's theory that all forms of inequality can be reduced to social class, and that classes form the only significant social groups in society, comprises one of the two theories (Weber's being the other) that now dominate modern thinking on class. This is a measure of Marx's continuing importance as an analyst of class.

Marx's theory of alienation has risen in critical esteem as scientific socialism has declined. Alienation means that people are unable to derive satisfaction from their work, or from the products of their labour. Marx supposed that alienation arose from an economic system involving the exchange of goods, for the goods produced became mere "commodities" for sale rather than the means to "self-realisation". Marx observed that two features of modern industry - mechanisation and specialisation - further increase alienation, but believed that it is capitalism itself that is more important. In this he has been often criticised but alienation is an important concept and like other worthwhile theories has stimulated thought and led to modified alienation theories such as those of Gorz and Marcuse, whose theories encompass leisure as well as work, such that under capitalism people are alienated from both work and leisure.

Also significant is Marx's view of human nature, a key element in political thought. Marx supposed that human nature is malleable, altering according to socio-economic conditions in each time-period. Few people now agree with Marx that human nature is as pliable as he supposed but almost all agree with him that human nature can and does change according to circumstances.

Finally there is Marx's critique of the liberal conception of freedom. The mid-nineteenth century was dominated by the liberal concepts of negative liberty, the minimal state and laissez-faire economics. Marx, however, saw that actions that are rational and utility-maximising for individuals could harm the interests of society as a whole. Take the vexed issue of private versus public transport. The M25 into London is choked every morning with commuter traffic. Buses could complete the journey in a fraction of the time (and assist commercial transport to the benefit of the whole economy). An individual can use a bus, but whilst there are so many cars the bus is no quicker and less convenient. The liberal conception of freedom has led to a paradox: we have each chosen in our own interests, but the result is in no one's interest. Individual rationality, collective irrationality. Marx saw that capitalism involved this sort of collective irrationality. The problem, of course, is how to persuade people to cooperate for the common good (to use the bus in the above example) without unacceptable coercion, for it is in the interests of each individual for others to participate in the collective action whilst he remains a free-rider. Nevertheless, this in no way invalidates the force of Marx's critique of liberal freedom.

A superb book as usual from McLellan. This coupled with his Marxism After Marx provides an unbeatable introduction to the field.

Given that there is no 'Look Inside' feature I thought it appropriate to list the contents for anyone who is interested. My edition is older and seems to be missing some extra content (625 pages as opposed to the 704 of the second edition), but the differences are surely slight.

Abbreviations
Introduction

THE EARLY WRITINGS 1837-1844
- Letter To His Father
- Doctoral Thesis
- Articles for the Rheinische Zeitung
- Critique of Hegel's 'Philosophy of Right'
- A Correspondence of 1843
- On the Jewish Question
- Towards a Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right: Introduction
- Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts
- Letter to Ludwig Feuerbach
- On James Mill
- Critical Remarks on the Article: 'The King of Prussia and Social Reform'

THE MATERIALIST CONCEPTION OF HISTORY 1844-1847
- The Holy Family
- Theses on Feuerbach
- The German Ideology
- Letter to Annenkov
- The Poverty of Philosophy
- Moralizing Criticism and Critical Morality

1848 AND AFTER
- The Communist Manifesto
- Wage-Labour and Capital
- Speech on Free Trade
- Articles for the Neue Rheinische Zeitung
- Address to the Communist League
- The Class Struggles in France
- Speech to the Central Committee of the Communist League
- The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte
- Journalism of the 1850s
- Speech on the Anniversary of the People's Paper
- Letters 1848-1857

THE 'ECONOMICS' 1857-1867
- Grundrisse
- Preface to A Critique of Political Economy
- Theories of Surplus Value
- Capital
- Results of the Immediate Process of Production
- Letters 1858-1868

LATER POLITICAL WRITINGS 1864-1882
- Inaugural Address to the First International
- On Trade Unions
- The Civil War in France
- Preface to the Second German Edition of the Communist Manifesto
- On Bakunin's Statism and Anarchy
- Critique of the Gotha Programme
- Letter to Mikhailovsky
- Circular Letter
- Letter to Vera Sassoulitch
- Comments on Adolph Wagner
- Preface to the Russian Edition of the Communist Manifesto
- Letters 1863-1881

Chronological Table
Bibliography
Index of Names
Index of Subjects