Karl Marx

Karl Korsch (1886-1961) was one of the most significant Marxist writers of the twentieth century. Along with Georg Lukacs's History and Class Consciousness, Korsch's Marxism and Philosophy (1923) stands as one of the two major contributions to the study of the philosophical underpinnings of Marxist theory.

"[I]n its compactness and objectivity the book is a useful theoretical tool for proletarian class aspirations, we cannot in reviewing it do better than to indicate, though inadequately, its richness and value."—Paul Mattick“The republication of Karl Korsch’s masterly study of Karl Marx provides a useful reminder of the theoretical insights of the author, made during a period of major upheaval and debate among the then faltering international communist and workers movements. The book provides, not only an in-depth examination of Marx’s core ideas and work, it is also to be viewed in many ways as a summary of much of Korsch’s understanding of Marx and Marxism. Ideas such as the principle of historical specification and Korsch’s own understanding of dialectics, political economy and historical materialism feature prominently.” –Liam Conway, Marx & Philosophy Review of Books

• ContentsForeword by Michael BuckmillerIntroductionPart OneSociety1. Marxism and Sociology2. The Principle of Historical Specification3. Specification (continued)4. The Principle of Change5. The Principle of Criticism6. A New Type of Generalisation7. Practical ImplicationsPart TwoPolitical Economy1. Marxism and Political Economy2. From Political Economy to ‘Economics’3. From Political Economy to the Marxian Critique of Political Economy4. Scientific versus Philosophical Criticism of Political Economy5. Two Aspects of Revolutionary Materialism in Marx’s Economic Theory6. The Economic Theory of Capital7. The Fetishism of Commodities8. The ‘Social Contract’9. The Law of Value10. Common Misunderstandings of the Marxian Doctrine of Value and Surplus-Value11. Ultimate Aims of Marx’s Critique of Political EconomyPart ThreeHistory1.The Materialist Conception of History2. The Genesis of Historical Materialism3. The Materialist Scheme of Society4. Nature and Society5. Productive Forces and Production-Relations6. Base and Superstructure7. ConclusionsBibliographyIndex of Names