The German ideology : including Theses on Feuerbach and introduction to The critique of political economy

Description

A new abridgement of Marx and Engels’s 1846 reckoning with the philosophical tradition, edited and with an introduction by philosopher Tom Whyman. Edited and with an introduction by philosopher Tom Whyman, this new abridged version The German Ideology sheds new light on one of the most difficult, disputed texts in Marx’s oeuvre. Written in 1846 and subsequently abandoned by Marx and Engels, only to be rescued in the 1930s by researchers in the USSR, The German Ideology is the high point of Marx’s philosophical thought: a brilliantly insightful, still thrillingly radical work of materialist philosophical therapy. Yet there remains no wholly satisfactory stand-alone version in English, with only a heavily abridged 1970 edition edited by C.J. Arthur, or a facsimile edition taken from Vol. 5 of the Marx-Engels Collected Works, which does not include satisfactory scholarly notes, currently available. In this new Repeater Classics edition, Tom Whyman seeks to remedy this. By expanding on generally-available abridgements to include the bulk of the section on Max Stirner, as well as amending the translation, adding notes and providing a new critical introduction, this new edition of The German Ideology will allow non-specialists to engage with this critical work for the first time. At a time when interest in Marx's work is increasing, as people look for an alternative to our currently failing political system, this new edition of The German Ideology will bring Marx's most substantial vision of what communism might actually be like to a whole new audience. "A much-needed popular edition of The German Ideology. Read this if you want to understand the explosive philosophy of Marx and Engels." --This text refers to the paperback edition. Tom Whyman is a writer and philosopher from the UK. He has taught at the universities of Essex, Warwick, and Hull. His first book, Infinitely Full of Hope, was published by Repeater in 2021. Cover Half-Title Title Page Copyright Contents Introduction by Tom Whyman The German Ideology Preface 1. "The Chapter on Feuerbach” or: “Some Notes Which Aren’t Actually on Feuerbach, But Which Were at One Stage Fudged into a Chapter Called ‘Feuerbach’”, or: “Materialism as Philosophical Therapy: Towards the Constant Overthrow of All Existing States of Affairs”. A. Idealism and Materialism The Illusions of German Ideology First Premises of Materialist Method History: Fundamental Conditions Private Property and Communism B. The Illusion of the Epoch Civil Society and the Conception of History Ruling Class and Ruling Ideas C. Proletarians and Communism Individuals, Class, and Community Forms of Intercourse Contradictions of Big Industry: Revolution Conclusion 2. “III. Sankt Max”, or: “The Chapter on Stirner (Heavily Abridged)”, or: “On Egoism and Class Consciousness”. The Unique and His Property The Old Testament: Man The Book of Genesis, i.e., A Man’s Life The Economy of the Old Testament The Free Ones First Logical Construction Second Logical Construction Fourth Logical Construction First Corollary Second Corollary Third Corollary Conclusion Third Logical Construction Proverb of Solomon No. 1 Proverb of Solomon No. 2 Third Corollary Second Corollary First Corollary The New Testament: “Ego” The Phenomenology of the Egoist in Agreement with Himself The Revelation of John the Divine, or: “The Logic of the New Wisdom” Solomon’s Song of Songs, or: The Unique 3. Boiling Down Everything as Far as It Will Go: Abridgement of My Abridgement 1. Materialism as Philosophical Therapy 2. Critique of Stirner’s Critique of Political Liberalism 3. Critique of Stirner’s Critique of Communism 4. From Egoism to Communism 4. Abridgement of the Abridgement of the Abridgement (from “Theses on Feuerbach”) Acknowledgements