Early Writings

Karl Marx (1818-1883). The core of Marx's economic analysis found early expression in the Ökonomisch-philosophische Manuskripte aus dem Jahre 1844 (Economic and Political Manuscripts of 1844). There, Marx argued that the conditions of modern industrial societies invariably result in the estrangement (or alienation) of workers from their own labor. In his review of a Bruno Baier book, On the Jewish Question (1844), Marx decried the lingering influence of religion over politics and proposed a revolutionary re-structuring of European society. Much later, Marx undertook a systematic explanation of his economic theories in Das Kapital (Capital) (1867-95) and Theorien über den Mehrwert (Theory of Surplus Value) (1862).

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• Introduction by Lucio CollettiCritique of Hegel's Doctrine of the State (1843)Letters from the Francon-German Yearbooks (1843)On the Jewish Question (1843)A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right. Introduction (1843-4)Excerpts from James Mill's Elements of Political Economy (1844)Economic and Political Manuscripts (1844)Critical Notes on the Article "The King of Prussia and Social Reform. By a Prussian" (1844)AppendixA. Concerning FeuerbachB. Preface (to A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy)Glossary of Key TermsChronology of Marx's Life 1818 to August 1844Note on Previous Editions of the Works of Marx and EngelsChronology of Works by Marx and EngelsIndex