Description

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Marx's oeuvre is vast but there are key elements of his ever evolving, class-based contribution to social theory. Declining usefulness for him of Hegelian philosophy and his deepening confrontation with Ricardian political economy were expressions. While the French edition of Capital is closest to Marx's mature thought, Engels did not understand how work on Russia related to Marx's evolution, and Engels distorted the outcome. Accumulation of capital is particularly difficult conceptually, including use of 'primitive accumulation', and is carefully addressed, as is composition of capital. After Marx, Luxemburg is the most significant contributor to Marxism and her works on political economy and on nationalism are highlighted here. The modern topic of state conspiracies, too often avoided, concludes the book. Troubling issues, however, remain.

About the Author

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Paul Zarembka is Professor of Economics, State University of New York at Buffalo, and general editor since 1977 of Research in Political Economy (Emerald). With many articles, and also editing Frontiers in Econometrics (Academic Press, 1974) and The Hidden History of 9-11 (Seven Stories Press, 2008), he is listed in Marquis' Who's Who in the World, among other listings. He worked at the International Labor Office in Geneva, Switzerland, was a Fulbright scholar in Poznan, Poland, and is an activist in his academic union.