Karl Marx

"Filosofferne har kun fortolket verden forskelligt, men det, som det kommer an på, er at forandre den." -Karl Marx Der hersker ingen tvivl om den vidtrækkende betydning, som Karl Marx har haft for politik i praksis. De seneste par hundrede års politiske historie lader sig simpelthen ikke skrive uden reference til sociale og politiske kræfter, konflikter og bevægelser, som er uløseligt forbundet med Marx. Marx' værk er uhyre omstridt, og dele af det må betragtes som tilbagevist af den historiske udvikling. Mange i moderne statskundskab vil ikke føle nogen gæld til Marx og helst tage afstand til en samfundsteori, der har været udgangspunkt for så mange totalitære styrer. Men samtidig rummer Marx forfatterskab fortsat så dybe indsigter og udfordrer så mange konventioner, at læsningen igen og igen giver anledning til både inspiration og anfægtelser. Jørn Loftager analyserer og diskuterer i denne bog Karl Marx' omfattende forfatterskab ud fra en klar overbevisning om, at man fortsat kan blive klogere af at studere denne monumentale skikkelse i moderne samfundsvidenskab og politik trods de samfundsmæssige følger af forfatterskabet. Indholdsoversigt Redaktionelt forord Kapitel 1. Marx liv, indflydelse og relevans Kapitel 2. Idealisme og materialisme Kapitel 3. Teori og kritik - fortolkning og forandring Kapitel 4. En almen teori om historie og samfund? Kapitel 5. Generaliseret vareproduktion: arbejdskraft som vare Kapitel 6. Merværdi og udbytning - "samfundsmæssiggørelse" og retfærdighed Kapitel 7. Klasser og funktionel differentiering Kapitel 8. Politik mellem klasser, identiteter og funktionel differentiering Kapitel 9. Afslutning: Marx og civilisationskritikken Litteratur

SHORTLISTED FOR THE ELIZABETH LONGFORD PRIZE FOR HISTORICAL BIOGRAPHY 2017 'A deeply original and illuminating account of Marx's journey through the intellectual history of the nineteenth century... a profound reappraisal and a gripping read' Christopher Clark, author of The Sleepwalkers As the nineteenth century unfolded, its inhabitants had to come to terms with an unparalleled range of political, economic, religious and intellectual challenges. Distances shrank, new towns sprang up, and ingenious inventions transformed the industrial landscape. It was an era dominated by new ideas about God, human capacities, industry, revolution, empires and political systems - and above all, the shape of the future. One of the most distinctive and arresting contributions to this debate was made by Karl Marx, the son of a Jewish convert in the Rhineland and a man whose entire life was devoted to making sense of the hopes and fears of the nineteenth century world. Gareth Stedman Jones's impressive biography explores how Marx came to his revolutionary ideas in an age of intellectual ferment, and the impact they had on his times. In a world where so many things were changing so fast, would the coming age belong to those enthralled by the events which had brought this world into being, or to those who feared and loathed it? This remarkable book allows the reader to understand as never before the world of ideas which shaped Marx's world - and in turn made Marx shape our own.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE ELIZABETH LONGFORD PRIZE FOR HISTORICAL BIOGRAPHY 2017 'A deeply original and illuminating account of Marx's journey through the intellectual history of the nineteenth century... a profound reappraisal and a gripping read' Christopher Clark, author of The Sleepwalkers As the nineteenth century unfolded, its inhabitants had to come to terms with an unparalleled range of political, economic, religious and intellectual challenges. Distances shrank, new towns sprang up, and ingenious inventions transformed the industrial landscape. It was an era dominated by new ideas about God, human capacities, industry, revolution, empires and political systems - and above all, the shape of the future. One of the most distinctive and arresting contributions to this debate was made by Karl Marx, the son of a Jewish convert in the Rhineland and a man whose entire life was devoted to making sense of the hopes and fears of the nineteenth century world. Gareth Stedman Jones's impressive biography explores how Marx came to his revolutionary ideas in an age of intellectual ferment, and the impact they had on his times. In a world where so many things were changing so fast, would the coming age belong to those enthralled by the events which had brought this world into being, or to those who feared and loathed it? This remarkable book allows the reader to understand as never before the world of ideas which shaped Marx's world - and in turn made Marx shape our own.