An Introduction to Karl Marx [Hardcover]

Jon Elster (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521329221 | ISBN-13: 978-0521329224 | Publication Date: July 25, 1986 | Edition: 1

A concise and comprehensive introduction to Marx's social, political and economic thought for the beginning student. Jon Elster surveys in turn each of the main themes of marxist thought: methodology, alienation, economics, exploitation, historical materialism, classes, politics, and ideology; in a final chapter he assesses 'what is living and what is dead in the philosophy of Marx'. The emphasis throughout is on the analytical structure of Marx's arguments and the approach is at once sympathetic, undogmatic, and rigorous.

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

A critical introduction to Marx's social, political and economic thought that stresses the relevance and importance of many of the philosopher's theories. It can be considered a standard basic reference work for the study of Marx in conjunction with the author's companion selection of Marx's writings, Karl Marx: A Reader.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 1 edition (July 25, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521329221
• ISBN-13: 978-0521329224
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,178,456 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars An introduction to Elster more than Marx, August 6, 2000

By 

Douglas Doepke (Claremont, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: An Introduction to Karl Marx (Paperback)

Elster's book serves as a poor introduction to Marx's thought for several reasons. First, Elster doesn't lay out Marx's specific doctrines in much detail, leaving the reader with a mere impression instead of an understanding of the theories involved. Much lack of clarity and detail results from Elster's eagerness to refute specific theories at the same time he presents them. Moreover his interpretations are consistently uncharitable. Combined with little effort at elaborating Marx's theories to meet the objections, we're left with a pretty partisan result, and one made paradoxical by Elster's own self-described Marxism.

The impression throughout is of superficiality. I suspect much of this superficiality results from Elster's "methodological individualism" and fashionable reliance on game theory, the current paradigm of rationable behavior. Small wonder that Elster finds sympathy only in certain Marxian themes rather than specific results, given Marx's general allegiance to holistic forms of explanation. The book's unsatisfactory nature is almost redeemed by an outstanding chapter on self-realization as Marx's chief social value. The rest of the chapters pale in comparison to this little gem among the castoffs.

9 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Truth in Packaging, March 15, 2001

By 

Douglas Doepke (Claremont, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: An Introduction to Karl Marx (Paperback)

An introduction should be just that, an introduction. At the very least, this means that exposition should predominate over commentary. When a work reverses those roles, the result is commentary, not introduction, regardless of title or pretensions to the contrary.This is basic to the genre, and has nothing to do with allegiance on part of writer, reader, or reviewer. The axiom that a reader cannot judge intelligently without first understanding what is being judged (in this case Marx) underlies the significance of exposition to an introduction, and speaks to an elementary point that apparently eludes the overzealous reviewer below. Properly understood, Elster's work is commentary, with its own agenda, and scant if any attention to the needs of introduction, let alone a good one. (Notice how Elster's preferred methodology is given priority of place and then used to critique what little is presented of Marx's.) I would have no quarrel were the book titled *Elster on Marx* or *Making Sense of Marx*. Nor do I necessarily have a quarrel with those who criticize or revise Marx. But to title a work Introduction and then bury a smattering of exposition inside a running critique - no matter how worthy or not the commentary - is to do reader and purchaser a disservice. Unfortunately, the book is about Elster, not Marx, and while there are many other introductions that do the job properly, this is not one of them. And, no, Mr. Ver Sluys, this is not about that tiresome chestnut of subservience to Marx - for that, I suggest you check your own effusions on Elster. What it is about is truth in packaging for readers who wish to make up their own minds.

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Elster on Marx, August 8, 2008

By 

Edward Danison (New York, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: An Introduction to Karl Marx (Paperback)

I agree with the reviewer who suggested the title "Elster on Marx" might summarize the contents better than "An Introduction to Karl Marx" if Elster's goal is to introduce Marx to newcomers. But Elster right from the start lays out his point of view (methodological individualism, rational choice theory etc.), and I find no claim to dispassionate objectivity. It has the necessary caveats, and it is an erudite analysis.

Marx is one of history's most fussed-over figures, and I'd prefer to see an introduction to him lay out the data a bit more disinterestedly -- in the first part of the book, anyway -- and in the second part announce, "Now here is where I stand." That is exactly Thomas Sowell's approach in "Marxism: Philosophy and Economics". Plus, between the two authors, Sowell seems to directly quote Marx & Engels twice or three times as much. Now there's novel idea -- Marx on Marx!

If I were making a reading list for a freshman intro course in social science, I'd pick Sowell's book.