Alienation and Emancipation in the Work of Karl Marx

by George C. Comninel

This book considers Karl Marx’s ideas in relation to the social and political context in which he lived and wrote. It emphasizes both the continuity of his commitment to the cause of full human emancipation, and the role of his critique of political economy in conceiving history to be the history of class struggles. The book follows his developing ideas from before he encountered political economy, through the politics of 1848 and the Bonapartist “farce,”, the maturation of the critique of political economy in the Grundrisse and Capital, and his engagement with the politics of the First International and the legacy of the Paris Commune. Notwithstanding errors in historical judgment largely reflecting the influence of dominant liberal historiography, Marx laid the foundations for a new social theory premised upon the historical consequences of alienation and the potential for human freedom.

370 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 18, 2018

Reviews

[Roberto Yoed · Rating 2 out of 5]

A pretentious book that tries, but miserably fails, to unite the life of Marx with his entire theory.

This is the clear example of not learning from Marx's abstraction and dialectic method.

The content of the ideas are good (even provocative sometimes; evolution of concepts p. 15, Marx's concern on revolution p. 149 and study of other modes of production, p. 217) but the prose is boring.

It does explain the central topic (alienation and emancipation) while in other discussions it divagates to the point no one longer cares.

Not essential.