Marx and Modernity: Key Readings and Commentary

Karl Marx is, perhaps, the founding figure of modern social theory. His ideas and writings have been entwined with some of the twentieth century’s greatest struggles for justice, and some of its worst repression. He has inspired an equal measure of followers and critics, and entirely diverse lines of research and theory. Each new generation of social thinkers have advanced theories in the wake of Marx, proving his undying contemporary relevance. In this illuminating and concise collection of readings, Karl Marx emerges as the first theorist to give a comprehensive social view of the birth and development of capitalist modernity that began with the Second Industrial Revolution and still exists today. Organized analytically, each section of readings relates to an enduring facet of Marxist thought. Along with Marx’s own writing, there are fifteen contemporary essays on a variety of topics showing the influence of Marx on today’s world. Editorial introductions are included at the beginning of the volume and of each section to situate the readings historically and intellectually. Every student and scholar of social theory and Marxism will find this to be the defining collection of Marxist modern thought.