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Early Writings (Penguin Classics) Paperback – July 1, 1992

by Karl Marx (Author), Rodney Livingstone (Translator), Gregor Benton (Translator),
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 76 ratings
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Written in 1833-4, when Marx was barely twenty-five, this astonishingly rich body of works formed the cornerstone for his later political philosophy. In the Critique of Hegel's Doctrine of the State, he dissects Hegel's thought and develops his own views on civil society, while his Letters reveal a furious intellect struggling to develop the egalitarian theory of state. Equally challenging are his controversial essay On the Jewish Question and the Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts, where Marx first made clear his views on alienation, the state, democracy and human nature. Brilliantly insightful, Marx's Early Writings reveal a mind on the brink of one of the most revolutionary ideas in human history - the theory of Communism. This translation fully conveys the vigour of the original works. The introduction, by Lucio Colletti, considers the beliefs of the young Marx and explores these writings in the light of the later development of Marxism.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
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  1. Print length
    464 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Penguin Classics
  4. Publication date
    July 1, 1992
  5. Grade level
    12 and up
  6. Reading age
    18 years and up
  7. Dimensions
    7.89 x 5.14 x 1.1 inches
  8. ISBN-10
    0140445749
  9. ISBN-13
    978-0140445749
  10. See all details
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About the Author

Karl Marx was born in 1818 in Trier, Germany and studied in Bonn and Berlin. Influenced by Hegel, he later reacted against idealist philosophy and began to develop his own theory of historical materialism. He related the state of society to its economic foundations and mode of production, and recommended armed revolution on the part of the proletariat. Together with Engels, who he met in Paris, he wrote the Manifesto of the Communist Party. He lived in England as a refugee until his death in 1888, after participating in an unsuccessful revolution in Germany. Ernst Mandel was a member of the Belgian TUV from 1954 to 1963 and was chosen for the annual Alfred Marshall Lectures by Cambridge University in 1978. He died in 1995 and the Guardian described him as 'one of the most creative and independent-minded revolutionary Marxist thinkers of the post-war world.'

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Classics; Reprint edition (July 1, 1992)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 464 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0140445749
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0140445749
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 18 years and up
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 12 and up
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.3 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.89 x 5.14 x 1.1 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 76 ratings

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Karl Marx

Karl Marx

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Karl Marx (1818-1883) was a German philosopher, political economist, historian, political theorist, sociologist, communist, and revolutionary, whose ideas played a significant role in the development of modern communism. Marx summarized his approach in the first line of chapter one of The Communist Manifesto, published in 1848: "The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles." Marx argued that capitalism, like previous socioeconomic systems, would inevitably produce internal tensions which would lead to its destruction. Just as capitalism replaced feudalism, he believed socialism would, in its turn, replace capitalism, and lead to a stateless, classless society called pure communism. This would emerge after a transitional period called the "dictatorship of the proletariat": a period sometimes referred to as the "workers state" or "workers' democracy". In section one of The Communist Manifesto Marx describes feudalism, capitalism, and the role internal social contradictions play in the historical process: We see then: the means of production and of exchange, on whose foundation the bourgeoisie built itself up, were generated in feudal society. At a certain stage in the development of these means of production and of exchange, the conditions under which feudal society produced and exchanged...the feudal relations of property became no longer compatible with the already developed productive forces; they became so many fetters. They had to be burst asunder; they were burst asunder. Into their place stepped free competition, accompanied by a social and political constitution adapted in it, and the economic and political sway of the bourgeois class. A similar movement is going on before our own eyes.... The productive forces at the disposal of society no longer tend to further the development of the conditions of bourgeois property; on the contrary, they have become too powerful for these conditions, by which they are fettered, and so soon as they overcome these fetters, they bring order into the whole of bourgeois society, endanger the existence of bourgeois property.Marx argued for a systemic understanding of socio-economic change.

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4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
76 global ratings
Purchased New but item seems used ...
3 Stars
Purchased New but item seems used ...
Well, I purchased a "new" book for educational purposes, but the item appears to be "used" . There's dents and separation along the edges. The barcode sticker was ripped off. The spine is also broken in so that itself usually indicates a used item. A bit disappointed but too much of a hassle to return when I need the item now-- only reason giving it 3 ⭐ was the book is here and intact. 🙂
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Top reviews from the United States

Balam
5.0 out of 5 stars This book rocks!
Reviewed in the United States on October 3, 2013
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As always, Penguin offers the best books at the best price. For the beginners in the Marx thinking, this baby will be, at least, most interesting, thanks!
2 people found this helpful
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Will Sinda
5.0 out of 5 stars Good selection of Marx's early stuff
Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2017
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Basically brand new, for pennies. Good selection of Marx's early stuff.
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Gunlover
5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Stuff Marx Ever Wrote
Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2012
This collection of Karl Marx's early writing represents, in my opinion, some of the best material Marx ever wrote. This is a wonderful collection that includes translations of the early Paris Manuscripts from 1844 and Marx's notorious essay "On the Jewish Question." Since the latter essay is frequently misunderstood, I'll focus this review on the subject of the Jewish question.

In "On the Jewish Question," Marx takes issue with Bruno Bauer's assertion that the Jews in Germany during the 19th Century should seek political emancipation and equal rights in Germany by renouncing Judaism. Because Germany was a Christian state during this time, it was Bauer's contention that the Jews could not receive civic and political emancipation as Jews within a Christian state due to two mitigating factors: one, the natural egoism of the Jew, that is, the notion of the Jews as the "chosen people"; second , the tendency of the Christian state which permitted Jews to isolate themselves from other citizens of the state. In other words, Bauer reveals the contradiction behind the Jewish demand for emancipation in a Christian state. It is theologically inconsistent for the Jews to demand both equal political rights as well as the right to exclude themselves from the rest of the community which takes Christianity as the foundation of the state.

Because church and state were not separated in 19th Century Germany, Bauer concludes that the Jews needed to renounce their faith in order to become true citizens. By renouncing religion, Bauer assumes that the secularization of the German state will result, thus allowing for both Jews and Christians to exist equally as citizens politically emancipated from religion.

It is Marx's contention that when a state emancipates itself from religion, man remains an egoist. Man does not become a citizen of a realized political "state." What Bauer did not understand is that an "atheistic" state, or a state emancipated from religion, still allows religious belief to exist in the private sphere. Because Bauer was thinking within the confines of a Christian state, he felt that the secularization of the state would be sufficient to accommodate both Jews and Christians as equal citizens of the state. Bauer did not understand that the emancipation of the state from religion would still leave intact religious belief within the realm of civil society.

For Marx, true political emancipation involves the recognition of man's "species nature" as opposed to his egoistic life as it exists in civil society. While bourgeois society purports to distinguish the rights of the citizen (i.e., the general concerns of all people as members of an abstract state) from the rights of man (i.e., the liberty of men to worship and to dispense of their private property as they see fit), Marx claims that such a division acts as a façade for the justification of bourgeois civil society AS the state. It is the rights of man as a bourgeois, not as a citizen, that is considered true and authentic. True human emancipation should liberate man from egoism, not preserve it.

For Marx, alienation is overcome only when men recognize their species life, or the fact that, while all men are unique individuals, they remain part of the human whole. In other words, humans do not exist as individual monads apart from others. When egoistic action is valorized by civil society, our view of nature becomes fragmented. This fragmentation results from the objectification of nature as the source of property to be privatized, accumulated, or dispensed of at will. Furthermore, the labor of other men is objectified as capital to be bought and sold regardless of the physical and psychological well-being of the worker. This objectification may be overcome only through the recognition that humans exist in communal activity with others.

In the United States today, political egoism runs rampant. Right-wing political cults like Mormonism celebrate greed as divinely sanctioned. Climate change shows the libertarian ideal of the "isolated individual" able to do his thing without regard to others to be a complete lie. Republicans who preach the "divine community" of the family are caught with their pants down (literally) in truck stop restrooms pursuing their egoistic sexual needs with strangers. What's even more terrifying is that these people aspire to political control. We should all heed the words of Marx to understand the psychology of these people and do everything we can to keep them from the levers of power.
14 people found this helpful
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Andrew Crosson
4.0 out of 5 stars To Learn More About A Legend
Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2000
This book gives the reading a kind of "before they were stars" approach. It provides a good spring board to seeing how Marx metamorphasized from Das Capitol into the Communist Manifesto. I recommend this book for anyone who is looking to get to the base of and learn more about this influential write and philosopher.
4 people found this helpful
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s. aranaz
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2012
I wanted to read up on some of the great philosophers of years past. The book came in looking pristine, and I've enjoyed reading a bit (30 pgs) of it so far. Excellent choice I believe.
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Y. Hermeto
5.0 out of 5 stars indispensable...
Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2008
Indispensable for a correct reading of Karl Marx. To fully understand his point of view and critics you need to cover the early writings first, so that you won't form a wrong idea what Marxism is about, like most people usually do.
6 people found this helpful
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CBM
3.0 out of 5 stars Purchased New but item seems used ...
Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2024
Verified Purchase
Well, I purchased a "new" book for educational purposes, but the item appears to be "used" . There's dents and separation along the edges. The barcode sticker was ripped off. The spine is also broken in so that itself usually indicates a used item. A bit disappointed but too much of a hassle to return when I need the item now-- only reason giving it 3 ⭐ was the book is here and intact. 🙂
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CBM
3.0 out of 5 stars Purchased New but item seems used ...
Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2024
Well, I purchased a "new" book for educational purposes, but the item appears to be "used" . There's dents and separation along the edges. The barcode sticker was ripped off. The spine is also broken in so that itself usually indicates a used item. A bit disappointed but too much of a hassle to return when I need the item now-- only reason giving it 3 ⭐ was the book is here and intact. 🙂
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Jett Vance
3.0 out of 5 stars What can you expect
Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2014
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These are early writings compiled together. They are written like personal notes, truly outpourings of thought, not pruned and edited for mass consumption. As such, they are dry and drawn-out in some sections and a bit barren in others. There is a mix of argument, stating opinion as fact, solutions without backup and problems without solutions, that really just point to how this is not a polished work but a.. what's the description? It's worth looking at but not the most fulfilling philosophical journey to take on as a reader.
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Bruciebaby
5.0 out of 5 stars Pure Gold!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 23, 2012
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Reviews of Marx's early Writings usually begin with `difficult'. This is perhaps due to the first piece; `Critique of Hegel's Doctrine of the State'. This is indeed difficult, particularly for anyone uninitiated to the fundamentals of Marxism. Marx himself suffered headaches and ill health when he read Hegel so you are in good company! The writings are chronological and show the process of Marx's intellectual development between 1843-44. They begin with his philosophical dissection of Hegel before moving onto the analysis of social and economic issues.

However it would be a real shame if readers are put off by the initial difficulty of the `Critique', which consists of 142 pages of closely argued philosophy, more on this later. Within the writings there is much more accessible and less `heavy going' material. I would recommend that new readers start with `A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right' of which only the introduction remains. This is a famous passage where Marx describes religion as `the opium of the people'. It is a broad sweeping analysis of the current balance of social forces in the main European powers at the time. Marx first outlines his concept of class struggle as the motive force of historical progress and identifies the proletariat as the class which is alone capable of liberating humanity as a truely universal class. He makes his break with pure philosophy for `praxis', the application of thought to human action. In embryo here are the concepts which will be brilliantly espoused in the Communist Manifesto in 1848. It would be a justifiable digression to read the first two chapters of the Manifesto at this point.

`The Jewish Question' is an impassioned polemic against Bruno Bauer (one of the Young Hegelians) on the issue of Jewish emancipation in Germany. Parts are quite difficult and it could be left, along with `Excerpts from James Mill's `Elements of Political Economy'', in the meantime, to tackle `The Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts'.

The `Manuscripts' bring together his discoveries from the Critiques of Hegel's Doctrine of the State and Right in a synthesis as applied to man as `species being' within the sphere of bourgeois society. Here can be found the pure gold of the beginning of Marx's system. The fundamental critique of capitalism is laid out and Marx identifies the primary concepts which he would later enlarge in his `Theories of Surplus Value' and `Capital'. Included is his elaboration of communism where he develops the key concepts of `estrangement', `alienation' and `fetishism' which can only be transcended by a communist society. This section gives a rock solid basis for Marx's `humanism'. It is indispensable reading in order to appreciate the difference between `crude' communist ideas and also the further development of Marx's critique of capitalism.

Finally Marx turns to a broad critique of Hegel's philosophy. In this Marx again clearly states where he stands:

`Here we see how consistent naturalism or humanism differs both from idealism and materialism and is at the same time their unifying truth. We also see that naturalism is capable of comprehending the process of world history (p389).

This is a crucial passage and, if grasped, would allow one to grapple with the 'Critique of Hegel's Doctrine of the State' with a little more knowledge and confidence. It should be noted that, once read, the Critique then becomes the Genesis for the development of Marx's thought in the `Early Writings'. On the Critique it should be noted that, once the torturously difficult initial part is grasped it turns out to be a great read and, moreover, is very funny in many places!

I haven't covered everything even briefly. His letters to Ruge and the final article on `The King of Prussia' shouldn't be neglected. The Appendix includes the famous `Thesis on Feurbach' (1845) and his `Preface (to `A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy) written in 1859.

World changing!!
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Aaron Smith
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 30, 2020
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Wonderful book if you want to understand Marx's early work and how it informs later books such as Das Capital
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Mary
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 29, 2015
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Life-transforming. Essential, poetic writing.
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hammad
1.0 out of 5 stars The book does not meet the "Very Good" Criteria
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 11, 2023
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The Book had markings at multiple pages and is not a clean copy. Plus it had that typical smell of old dusty books.
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