Another Marx: Early Manuscripts to the International

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Following the break-up of the Soviet Union, Marx was regarded as a thinker doomed to oblivion about whom everything had already been said and written. However, the international economic crisis of 2008 favoured a return to his analysis of capitalism, and recently published volumes of the Marx-Engels-Gesamtausgabe (MEGA) have provided researchers with new texts that underline the gulf between Marxs critical theory and the dogmatism of many twentieth-century Marxisms. This work reconstructs with great textual and historical rigour, but in a form accessible to those encountering Marx for the first time, a number of little noted, or often misunderstood, stages in his intellectual biography. The book is divided into three parts. The first 'Intellectual Influences and Early Writings' investigates the formation of the young Marx and the composition of his Parisian manuscripts of 1844. The second 'The Critique of Political Economy' focuses on the genesis of Marxs magnum opus, beginning with his studies of political economy in the early 1850s and following his labours through to all the preparatory manuscripts for Capital. The third 'Political Militancy' presents an insightful history of the International Working Mens Association and of the role that Marx played in that organization. The volume offers a close and innovative examination of Marxs ideas on post-Hegelian philosophy, alienated labour, the materialist conception of history, research methods, the theory of surplus-value, working-class self-emancipation, political organization and revolutionary theory. From this emerges another Marx, a thinker very different from the one depicted by so many of his critics and ostensible disciples.

Reviews

We are all discussing Marx again. Among the vast literature, Marcello Musto's new work stands out as a careful, contextual analysis of Marx's writings and contributions to our understanding of the world - today, yesterday, and tomorrow. Another Marx is an outstanding and essential work for us all. * Immanuel Wallerstein, Emeritus Professor, Yale University, USA *
In Another Marx, Marcello Musto introduces us to Marxs intellectual laboratory. Addressing three key periods, this well-paced study draws on deep knowledge of Marxs notebooks to illuminate his working methods and their role in his intellectual breakthroughs and political struggles. Combining meticulous scholarship and a lively touch, this work is an indispensable guide for beginners and cognoscenti alike. * Bob Jessop, Distinguished Professor, Lancaster University, UK *
Building on the ongoing Marx-Engels Gesamtausgabe (MEGA2) project which has made Marxs excerpt notebooks available for the first time, Musto provides a fresh introduction to a critical-dialectical project that is intriguingly seen as unfinished and open, pointing to numerous alternative paths, and inviting more complex interpretations. For those unaware of the new historical materialist scholarship associated with the contemporary Marx Revival, Another Marx is an excellent place to start. * John Bellamy Foster, Professor of Sociology, University of Oregon, USA *

Author Bio

Marcello Musto is Associate Professor of Sociological Theory at York University, Canada. His books and articles have been published worldwide in more than twenty languages. He is the editor of Karl Marxs Grundrisse: Foundations of the Critique of Political Economy 150 Years Later (2008), Marx for Today (2012) and Workers Unite! The International 150 Years Later (Bloomsbury, 2014). He is also the author of The Last Marx (1881-1883): An Intellectual Biography (2018).