Marx Today: Selected Works and Recent Debates

by J. Sitton

Overview

This book provides, in one volume, primary sources by Marx and critical commentary which relates Marxism to contemporary social and political topics. It includes six brief works by Marx and ten articles by scholars, sympathetic to, but critical of, Marxism. For example, the author includes the classic essay by Heidi Hartmann which criticizes Marxism for misunderstanding gender oppression, "The Unhappy Marriage of Marxism and Feminism." No previous anthology of Marx has combined both brief works by Marx and multiple critical essays elaborating on his themes or engaging the shortcomings of his arguments.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780230102415
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan US
Publication date:	09/05/2012
Edition description:	2010
Pages:	263
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

John Sitton is a Professor of Political Science at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments viii

Introduction 1

I The Historical Origins of Capitalism 3

II The Hidden Dynamic of Capitalism 3

III The Political Trajectory of Capitalism 10

IV Problems with Marx's Theory 13

V Marxism and Contemporary Capitalism 22

VI Conclusion 35

Part I 35

1 Manifesto of the Communist Party 37

Preface to the 1888 English Edition of the Manifesto of the Communist Party 39

I Bourgeois and Proletarians 43

II Proletarians and Communists 51

III Socialist and Communist Literature 57

IV Position of the Communists in Relation to the Various Existing Opposition Parties 63

2 "Speech on Free Trade," with Engels's Preface of 1888 65

Protection and Free Trade Preface to the Pamphlet: Karl Marx, Speech on the Question of Free Trade 67

Speech on the Question of Free Trade Delivered to the Democratic Association of Brussels at Its Public Meeting of January 9, 1848 79

3 "Preface" to A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy 89

A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy 91

4 Value, Price and Profit 95

Marx to Engels in Manchester 97

[Value, Price and Profit] 99

5) [Wages and Prices] 100

6) [Value and Labour] 102

7) Labouring Power 107

8) Production of Surplus-Value 109

9) Value of Labour 110

10) Profit is Made by Selling A Commodity at its Value 111

11) The Different Parts into which Surplus-Value is Decomposed 112

12) General Relation of Profits, Wages and Prices 114

13) Main Cases of Attempts at Raising Wages or Resisting Their Fall 115

14) The Struggle between Capital and Labour and Its Results 119

5 Selection from The Civil War in France 123

Introduction [To Karl Marx's The Civil War In France] 125

The Civil War In France 135

III 135

6 Critique of the Gotha Programme 145

Marginal Notes On The Programme Of The German Workers' Party [Critique Of The Gotha Programme] 150

I 150

II 157

III 158

[IV] 159

Sources of Included Works 163

Part II 165

Introduction 167

Recent Marxian Debates 167

Notes on Authors of Articles 168

7 Why Socialism? Albert Einstein 171

8 Where Do Postmodernists Come From? Terry Eagleton 177

9 Monopoly-Finance Capital and the Paradox of Accumulation John Bellamy Foster Robert W. McChesney 185

Stages of Accumulation 187

Monopoly-Finance Capital and the Crisis 192

The System's No-Exit Strategy 197

10 The Unhappy Marriage of Marxism and Feminism: Towards a More Progressive Union Heidi Hartmann 201

I Marxism and the Woman Question 202

II Radical Feminism and Patriarchy 209

III The Partnership of Patriarchy and Capital 213

IV Toward a More Progressive Union 220

11 Marx and the Environment John Bellamy Foster 229

12 Revolutionizing Spirituality: Reflections on Marxism and Religion John Brentlinger 241

Suggested Further Reading 257

Index 259

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"This is a good, succinct, useful, timely, readable volume on Marx and Marxism. Clearly, Sitton has full command of Marx, Marxism, critiques of Marx and Marxism, and political economy in general. The collected pieces are a great mix and they nicely capture Marx's work and some of the secondary literature. It will be a wonderful tool for teaching Marx, Marxism, and political economy." - Mark Mattern, Professor of Political Science, Baldwin-Wallace College and Co-Editor of New Political Science: A Journal of Politics and Culture

"And as the crisis deepens, there will be significant interest in a work like this. I don't know about the U.S. but I've read about increased sales of Marx's Capital in Europe. That is likely to happen here and this will be a valuable companion to it." - August Nimtz, Professor of Political Science, University of Minnesota

Editorial Reviews

"This is a good, succinct, useful, timely, readable volume on Marx and Marxism. Clearly, Sitton has full command of Marx, Marxism, critiques of Marx and Marxism, and political economy in general. The collected pieces are a great mix and they nicely capture Marx's work and some of the secondary literature. It will be a wonderful tool for teaching Marx, Marxism, and political economy." - Mark Mattern, Professor of Political Science, Baldwin-Wallace College and Co-Editor of New Political Science: A Journal of Politics and Culture

"And as the crisis deepens, there will be significant interest in a work like this. I don't know about the U.S. but I've read about increased sales of Marx's Capital in Europe. That is likely to happen here and this will be a valuable companion to it." - August Nimtz, Professor of Political Science, University of Minnesota

From the Publisher