Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844: Marx's Early Writings on Alienation, Labor, Private Property, and Human Freedom

Karl Marx's Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844 reveal the early philosophical foundation of his critique of capitalism, labor, alienation, private property, and human freedom. Written before Capital and before the mature system most closely associated with Marxism, these manuscripts show Marx working through questions of political economy, philosophy, material life, and the human cost of a society organized around ownership, wages, and estranged labor.

In these writings, Marx exami...