An introduction to Karl Marx /
Jon Elster.
- Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 1986.
- vii, 200 p. : ill. ; 22 cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
Overview -- Marxist methodology -- Alienation -- Marxian economics -- Exploitation -- Historical materialism -- Class consciousness and class struggle -- Marx's theory of politics -- The Marxist critique of ideology -- What is living and what is dead in the philosophy of Marx?
A concise and comprehensive introduction to Marx's social, political and economic thought for the beginning student. Jon Elster surveys in turn each of the main themes of marxist thought: methodology, alienation, economics, exploitation, historical materialism, classes, politics, and ideology; in a final chapter he assesses 'what is living and what is dead in the philosophy of Marx'. The emphasis throughout is on the analytical structure of Marx's arguments and the approach is at once sympathetic, undogmatic, and rigorous.