Singer - Marx: A Very Short Introduction

Marx: A Very Short Introduction

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Marx A Very Short Introduction

Peter Singer

Great Clarendon Street, Oxford ox2 6dp

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Peter Singer 1980

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First published 1980 as an Oxford University Press paperback

Reissued 1996

First published as a Very Short Introduction 2000

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ISBN 13: 9780192854056

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Contents

Preface

There are many books on Marx, but a good brief introduction to his thought is still hard to find. Marx wrote at such enormous length, on so many different subjects, that it is not easy to see his ideas as a whole. I believe that there is a central idea, a vision of the world, which unifies all of Marxs thought and explains what would otherwise be puzzling features of it. In this book I try to say, in terms comprehensible to those with little or no previous knowledge of Marxs writings, what this central vision is. If I have succeeded, I need no further excuse for having added yet another book to the already abundant literature on Marx and Marxism.

For biographical details of Marxs life, I am especially indebted to David McLellans fine work, Karl Marx: His Life and Thought (Macmillan, London, 1973). My view of Marxs conception of history was affected by G.A. Cohens Karl Marxs Theory of History: A Defence (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1979), although I do not accept all the conclusions of that challenging study. Gerald Cohen sent me detailed comments on the draft of this book, enabling me to correct several errors. Robert Heilbroner, Renata Singer, and Marilyn Weltz also made helpful comments on the draft, for which I am grateful.

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