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Marx & Engels: Basic Writings on Politics and Philosophy
Engels' & Marx's writing are represented here in full variety, also including little-known letters & essays.
Manifesto of the Communist Party/Marx & Engels
Parts: A contribution to the critique of political economy/Marx
On historical materialism/Engels
Socialism: Utopian & scientific/Engels
Critique of the Gotha Program/Marx
Parts: Capital: A critique of political economy/Marx
On the history of early Christianity/Engels
L. Feuerbach & the end of classical German philosophy/Engels
Theses on Feuerbach/Marx
Parts: The German ideology/Marx & Engels
Parts: The Communism of the paper Rheinischer beobachter/Marx Parts: Toward the critique of Hegel's Philosophy of right/Marx
Parts: Herr Eugen Duhring's Revolution in science/Engels
Parts: The class struggles in France 1848-50/Marx
Parts: The 18th Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte/Marx
Parts: The Civil War in France/Marx
Part: Origin of the family, private property & the state/Engels
Letters on historical materialism/Engels
Parts: The peasant war in Germany/Engels
Letters & essays on political sociology/Marx & Engels
Letters: Russia's pattern of development. The Russian Marxists & Marxist texts. Anarchism & conspiratorial ethics. English Fabian socialism. Auguste Comte. Socialist imperialism in Java. Defence of progressive imperialism in Algeria. Socialist colonial policy. Sociology of the Bible. Oriental cities. Social classes in America. Why there is no large Socialist party in America
Essays: History of the Communist League. Excerpt from On social conditions in Russia. The British rule in India. On authority. Capital punishment. The labor movement in the US
Manifesto of the Communist Party/Marx & Engels
Parts: A contribution to the critique of political economy/Marx
On historical materialism/Engels
Socialism: Utopian & scientific/Engels
Critique of the Gotha Program/Marx
Parts: Capital: A critique of political economy/Marx
On the history of early Christianity/Engels
L. Feuerbach & the end of classical German philosophy/Engels
Theses on Feuerbach/Marx
Parts: The German ideology/Marx & Engels
Parts: The Communism of the paper Rheinischer beobachter/Marx Parts: Toward the critique of Hegel's Philosophy of right/Marx
Parts: Herr Eugen Duhring's Revolution in science/Engels
Parts: The class struggles in France 1848-50/Marx
Parts: The 18th Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte/Marx
Parts: The Civil War in France/Marx
Part: Origin of the family, private property & the state/Engels
Letters on historical materialism/Engels
Parts: The peasant war in Germany/Engels
Letters & essays on political sociology/Marx & Engels
Letters: Russia's pattern of development. The Russian Marxists & Marxist texts. Anarchism & conspiratorial ethics. English Fabian socialism. Auguste Comte. Socialist imperialism in Java. Defence of progressive imperialism in Algeria. Socialist colonial policy. Sociology of the Bible. Oriental cities. Social classes in America. Why there is no large Socialist party in America
Essays: History of the Communist League. Excerpt from On social conditions in Russia. The British rule in India. On authority. Capital punishment. The labor movement in the US
497 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1959
22 people are currently reading
451 people want to read
About the author
Karl Marx
3,279 books6,623 followersWith the help of Friedrich Engels, German philosopher and revolutionary Karl Marx wrote
The Communist Manifesto
(1848) and
Das Kapital
(1867-1894), works, which explain historical development in terms of the interaction of contradictory economic forces, form many regimes, and profoundly influenced the social sciences.
German social theorist Friedrich Engels collaborated with Karl Marx on The Communist Manifesto in 1848 and on numerous other works.
Mikhail Mikhailovich Bakhtin in London opposed Communism of Karl Marx with his antithetical anarchy.
Works of Jacques Martin Barzun include Darwin, Marx, Wagner (1941).
The Prussian kingdom introduced a prohibition on Jews, practicing law; in response, a man converted to Protestantism and shortly afterward fathered Karl Marx.
Marx began co-operating with Bruno Bauer on editing Philosophy of Religion of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (see Democritus and Epicurus), doctoral thesis, also engaged Marx, who completed it in 1841. People described the controversial essay as "a daring and original piece... in which Marx set out to show that theology must yield to the superior wisdom." Marx decided to submit his thesis not to the particularly conservative professors at the University of Berlin but instead to the more liberal faculty of University of Jena, which for his contributed key theory awarded his Philosophiae Doctor in April 1841. Marx and Bauer, both atheists, in March 1841 began plans for a journal, entitled Archiv des Atheismus (Atheistic Archives), which never came to fruition.
Marx edited the newspaper Vorwärts! in 1844 in Paris. The urging of the Prussian government from France banished and expelled Marx in absentia; he then studied in Brussels. He joined the league in 1847 and published.
Marx participated the failure of 1848 and afterward eventually wound in London. Marx, a foreigner, corresponded for several publications of United States.
He came in three volumes. Marx organized the International and the social democratic party.
Marx in a letter to C. Schmidt once quipped, "All I know is that I am not a Marxist," as Warren Allen Smith related in Who's Who in Hell .
People describe Marx, who most figured among humans. They typically cite Marx with Émile Durkheim and Max Weber, the principal modern architects.
Bertrand Russell later remarked of non-religious Marx, "His belief that there is a cosmic ... called dialectical materialism, which governs ... independently of human volitions, is mere mythology" ( Portraits from Memory , 1956).
More: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Marx
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/marx/
http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bi...
http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/...
http://www.historyguide.org/intellect...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic...
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/...
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/t...
German social theorist Friedrich Engels collaborated with Karl Marx on The Communist Manifesto in 1848 and on numerous other works.
Mikhail Mikhailovich Bakhtin in London opposed Communism of Karl Marx with his antithetical anarchy.
Works of Jacques Martin Barzun include Darwin, Marx, Wagner (1941).
The Prussian kingdom introduced a prohibition on Jews, practicing law; in response, a man converted to Protestantism and shortly afterward fathered Karl Marx.
Marx began co-operating with Bruno Bauer on editing Philosophy of Religion of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (see Democritus and Epicurus), doctoral thesis, also engaged Marx, who completed it in 1841. People described the controversial essay as "a daring and original piece... in which Marx set out to show that theology must yield to the superior wisdom." Marx decided to submit his thesis not to the particularly conservative professors at the University of Berlin but instead to the more liberal faculty of University of Jena, which for his contributed key theory awarded his Philosophiae Doctor in April 1841. Marx and Bauer, both atheists, in March 1841 began plans for a journal, entitled Archiv des Atheismus (Atheistic Archives), which never came to fruition.
Marx edited the newspaper Vorwärts! in 1844 in Paris. The urging of the Prussian government from France banished and expelled Marx in absentia; he then studied in Brussels. He joined the league in 1847 and published.
Marx participated the failure of 1848 and afterward eventually wound in London. Marx, a foreigner, corresponded for several publications of United States.
He came in three volumes. Marx organized the International and the social democratic party.
Marx in a letter to C. Schmidt once quipped, "All I know is that I am not a Marxist," as Warren Allen Smith related in Who's Who in Hell .
People describe Marx, who most figured among humans. They typically cite Marx with Émile Durkheim and Max Weber, the principal modern architects.
Bertrand Russell later remarked of non-religious Marx, "His belief that there is a cosmic ... called dialectical materialism, which governs ... independently of human volitions, is mere mythology" ( Portraits from Memory , 1956).
More: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Marx
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/marx/
http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bi...
http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/...
http://www.historyguide.org/intellect...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic...
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/...
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/t...
Ratings & Reviews
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 27, 2019
I've held onto this book for ten years or so but had never read it cover to cover. I can't even remember what portions of it I read when I bought it or whether I read said portions for a class or in my free time. There are sloppy margin notes I assume are mine, usually drawing forced connections between some paragraph and Foucault or Durkheim or whatever I happened to be studying at the time. Point being, as familiar as I may be with the generalities of Marxist theory and this or that specific piece of writing (some of which are not included in this book which consciously focuses mainly on Marxist political philosophy), much of this collection is either new to me or as good as new to me.
And you know what? I was missing out. It turns out that supplementing blurry memories of the Manifesto, The 18th Brumaire et al. with occasional wikipedia deep dives is no substitute for reading Marx and Engels in their own words. Even if their arguments and observations weren't so disappointingly relevant today, they offer a treasure trove of ideas and insights.
Despite the focus on the political, as opposed to the more economical or sociological, side of Marx and Engels, the scope of this book is still quite wide. It spans Marx's early, ungainly Left Hegelianism of the 1840s to Engels remarkably clear, straightforward correspondences concerning historical materialism in the 1890s. There are dense, painfully acute writings on political organization and purpose (Critique of the Gotha Program) but also lively journalistic accounts of European turmoils (The Civil War in France) and fascinating re-interpretations of historical moments and movements (The Peasant War in Germany). On the whole I find that Engels' contributions are more enjoyable -his writing style being the more fluid and concise of the two- but the book as a whole is a worthwhile read.
I'm sure there are conservatives who would find this book upsetting on every level, but I'd say this is a book for just about anyone else. One needn't be communist to recognize Marx and Engels as vital thinkers and important writers.
And you know what? I was missing out. It turns out that supplementing blurry memories of the Manifesto, The 18th Brumaire et al. with occasional wikipedia deep dives is no substitute for reading Marx and Engels in their own words. Even if their arguments and observations weren't so disappointingly relevant today, they offer a treasure trove of ideas and insights.
Despite the focus on the political, as opposed to the more economical or sociological, side of Marx and Engels, the scope of this book is still quite wide. It spans Marx's early, ungainly Left Hegelianism of the 1840s to Engels remarkably clear, straightforward correspondences concerning historical materialism in the 1890s. There are dense, painfully acute writings on political organization and purpose (Critique of the Gotha Program) but also lively journalistic accounts of European turmoils (The Civil War in France) and fascinating re-interpretations of historical moments and movements (The Peasant War in Germany). On the whole I find that Engels' contributions are more enjoyable -his writing style being the more fluid and concise of the two- but the book as a whole is a worthwhile read.
I'm sure there are conservatives who would find this book upsetting on every level, but I'd say this is a book for just about anyone else. One needn't be communist to recognize Marx and Engels as vital thinkers and important writers.
August 23, 2022
A wonderful collection of M & E's most important writings. I would especially recommend Engels' Letters on Historical Materialism (especially the letter to J. Bloch), as they are some of the most clear explanations on HM anywhere, and very short.
I'm not sure if they've appeared anywhere else in print aside from the MECW and MEGA.
I'm not sure if they've appeared anywhere else in print aside from the MECW and MEGA.
July 12, 2022
A very helpful collection. I particularly enjoyed the selected letters and essays, most of which I had never seen or read before.
February 27, 2025
A good collection and included some letters I had never seen before
May 6, 2024
A good collection of iconic political philosophy writings!
December 19, 2014
An excellent selection of work from Marx and Engels. This edited work focuses on the philosophical basis of Marxism and the political analysis done by Marx and Engels with the unifying theme being historical materialism.
While I normally concentrate on Marx the economist and ignore Engels based on his own self-deprecation, I found these readings profoundly interesting and, especially, as a student of history I found Marx' contemporary analysis of 19th century revolutionary events in France fascinating, accurate, and standing up to the test of time - which is a rare event for most of his earlier work. I also found Engels' material on the revolutionary nature of early Christianity and the pre-Reformation movements of Greater Germany an interesting perspective on the nature of the mind, faith, and the human condition. Engels clearly shows that while he was not of the stature of Marx he was a critical thinker of a very high standard.
This book is an important read for those interested in Marx and Engels as serious observers of history, rather than, prophets of Utopianism.
While I normally concentrate on Marx the economist and ignore Engels based on his own self-deprecation, I found these readings profoundly interesting and, especially, as a student of history I found Marx' contemporary analysis of 19th century revolutionary events in France fascinating, accurate, and standing up to the test of time - which is a rare event for most of his earlier work. I also found Engels' material on the revolutionary nature of early Christianity and the pre-Reformation movements of Greater Germany an interesting perspective on the nature of the mind, faith, and the human condition. Engels clearly shows that while he was not of the stature of Marx he was a critical thinker of a very high standard.
This book is an important read for those interested in Marx and Engels as serious observers of history, rather than, prophets of Utopianism.
August 30, 2011
This book was recommended to me by older friends from high school. Over the years I've read most of the material within it again--primarily in The Collected Works of Marx and Engels published by International Publishers (NYC) in fifty volumes. Most notable is the sociological perspective of this collection's editor, Lewis Samuel Feuer (1912-2002).
November 5, 2012
This copy underlined by myself, and marked PAID UCONN bookstore, 1971!
November 3, 2013
My most useful book in college. Open to random page, read those two pages, find quote to take out of context for essay. Good times.
November 12, 2015
Re-Read
June 9, 2023
The collection of writings from Marx and Engles here is astonishing and well put together.
The intro however from Feuer was completely terrible.
The intro however from Feuer was completely terrible.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews