Product Description

Peter Singer identifies the central vision that unifies Marx's thought, enabling us to grasp Marx's views as a whole. He sees him as a philosopher primarily concerned with human freedom, rather than as an economist or a social scientist. He explains alienation, historical materialism, the economic theory of Capital, and Marx's ideas of communism, in plain English, and concludes with an assessment of Marx's legacy.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #33207 in Books
• Published on: 2000-10-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 120 pages

About the Author
Peter Singer is Professor of Philosophy at Princeton University. He is best known for his books Animal Liberation and his other books include Practical Ethics, Rethinking Life and Death, and How are we to Live?.

Customer Reviews

Excellent if you are a beginner
If you don't know anything, or know very little about Marx and his ideas and you need to brush up but don't have the time to sit for hours in a library, then get this book. I am a complete beginner with Marx, I had heard of him but knew nothing about his ideas. I had to acquire this knowledge in a very short space of time for an essay that I was writing for my Masters. This book was perfect, just enough information to give me the basics without getting to indepth AND in an easy to read format.

It covers events in his life as well as his main achievements and ideas.

This book makes no assumptions that you know anythign about Marxism so it is very easy to follow whilst avoiding being patronising or school bookish. In fact the Very Short Introduction series are actually written by very eminent scholars in the field so it by no means superficial or textbook material.

This is an excellent introduction to Marxism, it will give you the basics and will help you identify areas of further reading or study if you are so inclined. If you need an indepth, detailed look at his ideas/theories/life, then this isn't the book for you.

A short intro
This book is a very short introduction to Marx's ideologies. It does briefly explore the influences on Marx such as Hegelian philosophy and Engel's contribution. The main text deals with the formation of Marxist theories, their change through time in Marx's writings and the main thrust of their opinion. This book is particularly useful for those who find KAPITAL hard going at first - it acts as a nice intro to some of the heavier economic stuff in Marx's own writings.

Excellent Read
Singer has done a great job with this Very Short Introduction to Karl Marx. He explain's Marx's key points mostly in chronological order whilst peppering this with an insight into Marx's own development outside of his written work. At times the text does become a little dense, but the complexity of the material Singer explains may necessitate this. If you have never read any of Marx's material or simply wish to understand his theory in a more holistic way this is an excellent buy.