Marx's Social Ontology: Individuality and Community in Marx's Theory of Social Reality

by Carol C. Gould

Available again from the MIT Press.

Genres: Politics, Philosophy, Sociology

240 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1978

Reviews

[Quin Rich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really excellent, rigorous, comprehensive, and accessible overview of Marx’s conception of society as it is presented in the Grundrisse. Really dispels a lot of misinformation and myths about Marxism (eg that it is economistic), while also rendering Marx’s underlying conceptual framework and methodology accessible for those seeking to develop it (particularly in feminist and anti-racist directions in my case).

If you want an brief and accessible introduction to Marx’s thought (not an intro to socialism/capitalism per se, but to Marx as a social theorist), this is an excellent place to start.

[Brendan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finally got around to this after years of my friend James Marsh prodding me to read it. I wish I had read it sooner as the reading of Marx that Gould offers is a careful reconstruction of his thought in light of fully registering the Grundrisse. It is deep and convincing text that guides readers through a coherent and well-written argument at good pace. It offers a brilliant interpretation of labor, freedom, and justice in Marx's thought alongside an emphasis that he, with Aristotle, takes the individual as of primary methodological importance in his philosophy. Nonetheless, it does not slide into more barren forms of methodological individualism as with certain expressions of the analytic Marxists of the 80s and early 90s. A really rewarding text that demonstrates that if you do not place human creativity- and with it a concept of individual freedom- at the heart of your interpretation of Marx, you aren't really going to get it.

[Bahattin Cizreli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Türkiye'de egemen Marksist literatür içerisinde Marx'a pek öne çıkmayan bir bakış. Marx'ı katı bir yapısalcı ve determinist görmek yerine onun yabancılaşma, özgürleşme görüşleri ile toplum teorisi arasındaki ilişki bütünlüklü bir biçimde açıklanmış. Eğer bir felsefe öğrencisi olsaydım daha özenle okumaya çaba harcardım. Yine de çok şey öğrendiğimi ifade etmeliyim.