This is one of the most respected books on Marx's philosophical thought. Wood explains Marx's views from a philosophical standpoint and defends Marx against common misunderstandings and criticisms of his views. All the major philosophical topics in Marx's work are considered: the central concept of alienation; historical materialism and Marx's account of social classes; the nature and social function of morality; philosophical materialism and Marx's atheism; and Marx's use of the Hegelian dialectical method and the Marxian theory of value.
The second edition has been revised to include a new chapter on capitalist exploitation and new suggestions for further reading. Wood has also added a substantial new preface which looks at Marx's thought in light of the fall of the Soviet Union and our continued ambivalence towards capitalism, exploring Marx's continuing relevance in the twenty-first century.
Preface to the Second Edition -- Biographical Sketch -- Introduction -- PART -- Alienation -- 1 The Concept of Alienation -- 1 The young Marx's 'theory' of alienation -- 2 What is 'alienation'? -- 3 Alienation and false consciousness -- 4 Alienation and practice -- 2 The Human Essence -- 1 The species being -- 2 Species consciousness and alienation -- 3 Self-actualization -- 4 Human essential powers -- 3 Human Production -- 1 Conscious life activity -- 2 Labor as self-affirmation -- 3 Objectification and appropriation -- 4 Alienation and Capitalism -- 1 The capitalist division of labor -- 2 Capitalism and freedom -- 3 Assessing Marx on capitalist alienation -- PART -- Historical Materialism -- 5 Production and Society -- 1 'Economic determinism' -- 2 Productive powers, production relations -- 3 A 'technological' theory of history? -- 4 Productive powers and historical development -- 6 Classes -- 1 Social relations, property relations -- 2 History and social classes -- 3 Class interests -- 4 Class struggles -- 7 Materialist Explanations -- 1 Historical materialism as an empirical hypothesis -- 2 Materialist explanations are teleological -- 3 Is Marx a historical teleologist? -- 8 Materialism, Agency and Consciousness -- 1 Is Marx a determinist? -- 2 Three senses of 'ideology' -- 3 Ideology and science -- PART -- Marxism and Morality -- 9 Marx on Right and Justice -- 1 Does Marxism have moral foundations? -- 2 Marx's concept of justice -- 3 Capitalism and commodity exchange -- 4 Capital exploits justly -- 10 Morality as Ideology -- 1 The social function of morality -- 2 Marxism and utilitarianism -- 3 Is Marx an immoralist? -- 4 Why should a Marxist be moral? -- 5 Marx's attitude toward morality, and our attitude -- PART -- Philosophical Materialism -- 11 Materialist Naturalism -- 1 What is materialism? -- 2 Marx's atheism -- 3 The essentiality of humanity and nature -- 12 Materialist Realism -- 1 Knowledge and practice -- 2 The contemplative attitude -- 3 Is Marx an idealist? -- PART -- The Dialectical Method -- 13 The Hegelian Dialectic -- 1 Hegel's vision of reality -- 2 Organic development or dialectic -- 3 Dialectic and formal logic -- 14 The Marxian Dialectic -- 1 The 'rational kernel' in the 'mystical shell' -- 2 'Inverting' Hegel -- 3 Reproducing the concrete in thought -- 15 Dialectic in Capital -- 1 The structure of 'Capital' -- 2 Values and production prices -- 3 The law of value -- 4 Value and exploitation -- 16 Capitalist Exploitation -- 1 What is exploitation? -- 2 The vulnerability of labor to capital -- 3 Capitalist apologetics about exploitation -- 4 What is bad about capitalist exploitation? -- 5 How to think about capitalist exploitation -- Concluding Remark -- Notes -- Some Further Reading -- Index
