Why Read Marx Today? (1)

Title: Why Read Marx Today?
Author: Jonathan Wolff
Oxford University Press, 2002

CONTENTS

Preface                                               vii
Introduction                                          1
     Marx's life and works                      4
     The plan of this book                       9

1 Early Writings                                 13
     Introduction                                  13
     Religion                                        14
     The philosophy of historical
        materialism                                21
     Labour and alienation                   28
     Money and credit                         37
     Liberalism                                    40
     Emancipation                               45
     Conclusion                                  47

2 Class, History, and Capital             48
     Class                                           48
     History                                        52
     The economics of capitalism        66
     The transition to communism        82
     The nature of communism            92

3 Assessment                                 100
     Introduction                              100
     Early Writings                           102
     Theory of history                       109
     Economics                                113
     Communism                              118
     Human nature                           122
     Conclusion                                125

Guide to references and further
reading                                          127

Index                                             131


Preface
In 1986 1 took up a lectureship in philosophy at University
College London. The duties of the post. included lecturing on
Marxism, within a course initially set up by my teacher, Jerry
Cohen, who had recently left UCL, to take up a Chair in
Oxford. I enjoyed reading and thinking about Marx, and so
was happy enough to take this on. But I also thought that the
course probably would not survive for long. I could under-
stand that students would like to be taught Marxism by the
leading Analytical Marxist of the day, but I thought that with
Jerry's departure interest in Marxism would wither away.

Well, I was wrong. The teaching of Marxism in the
Philosophy Department at UCL survived Jerry's move. It also
survived the fall of the Berlin Wall and has flourished in the
face of the alleged deradicalization and careerism of today's
students. The course is now more popular than ever,
especially with US students in London for their Junior Year
Abroad. This book - written at the suggestion and invitation
of Shelley Cox - is based on the lectures that I have delivered
over the years.

The very first draft of the book was written not in a villa
overlooking Lake Como, or in a prestigious US Institute of
Advanced Research, but on the London Underground:
specifically the Northern and Victoria lines, scribbled into
little notebooks as the trains juddered between 'non-station
stops'. I can recommend the practice: it is liberating to have a
reason to want the train to be delayed. And it is a want very
often satisfied. Several friends read much later versions of the
text, and I am particularly grateful to Terrell Carver, Jerry
Cohen, Jon Pike, and Rajeev Sehgal, all of whom made
valuable written comments and saved me from embarrassing
errors. Writing this book has rekindled my appetite for going
back again to read more and more of Marx's writings (a
never-ending task). I hope that those reading this book will
understand why.