Historical materialism and the economics of Karl Marx

Croce, Benedetto, 1866-1952Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.9

Word count: 324K words
Chapters: 33

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Historical materialism and the economics of Karl Marx by Benedetto CroceAuthor: Croce, Benedetto, 1866-1952,Language: English, Class: D: History: General and Eastern Hemisphere, Release Date: May 8, 2012

Editor's review

This is the Italian philosopher Croce's critical examination of Marx's historical materialism and economic theory. Its significance lies not in restating Marx but in asking, from the perspective of a philosopher deeply influenced by the Hegelian tradition, about the relationship between economic factors and historical explanation, and in questioning several core propositions. The book is intellectually dense, with a philosophically inclined line of argument, and reading requires following its conceptual reasoning. For Marxian researchers it offers an interlocutor worth taking seriously; for readers of intellectual history it offers a view of how early twentieth-century European intellectuals received and reflected on Marxism. The book is not suitable as an introduction to Marx's doctrine and does not offer a systematic textbook exposition. It is best read after some theoretical grounding, as a document of intellectual debate.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers with some philosophical grounding interested in Marxian studies
Readers studying early twentieth-century European intellectual history
Those wanting to understand critical arguments on historical materialism
Upper-year students in political economy or philosophy

Not a good fit for

Beginners with no grounding in philosophy or political economy
Readers wanting to study Marx's own works systematically
Those wanting only a popular overview of intellectual history

Reading tips

First understand Croce's relationship to the Hegelian tradition, then enter the main text.
As you read, list the author's core objections and compare them one by one with Marx's original texts.
Slow down at dense passages of argument and take brief notes chapter by chapter.
After finishing, return to the introduction or conclusion to sort out the author's overall argumentative structure.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a textbook introducing Marx's economics?

No. It is a critical discussion of historical materialism and Marx's economic theory that presupposes relevant knowledge in the reader; it does not serve to explain systematically or guide beginners.

Can I understand it without a philosophy background?

It will be rather demanding. The conceptual reasoning is dense and involves Hegelian philosophical language and political-economic categories; it is advisable to build some foundation first, or use introductory material for support.

Do the criticisms in the book still have reference value today?

As a document of intellectual history it still has value, presenting a representative critical approach from the early twentieth century. Readers can treat it as debate material and judge, in light of later research, whether its arguments hold.

Should I read Marx's original works first or this book first?

It is advisable to have a basic acquaintance with Marx's relevant works before reading this book; otherwise it is hard to judge what the author is criticising and whether the criticism hits the mark.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Croce, Benedetto, 1866-1952 Author

Croce, Benedetto, 1866-1952, was an Italian philosopher, historian and literary critic whose works have had a profound influence on twentieth-century humanistic thought. The library holds eight of his works, covering aesthetics, the philosophy of history, practical philosophy and literary criticism. His Aesthetic defines art as intuition and expression and links it to general linguistics; Theory and History of Historiography examines the nature of historical knowledge; The Philosophy of the Practical treats economics and ethics; and further studies are devoted to Vico, to Marx's historical materialism, and to Ariosto, Shakespeare and Corneille. His writing is rigorous and speculative, with a distinctive terminology, combining philosophical argument with literary appreciation. Public information is limited, so this note draws only on the works held here and makes no conjectures about the details of his life.