Marx's Inferno

The Political Theory of Capital

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Political, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science, Politics, History & Theory
Cover of the book Marx's Inferno by William Clare Roberts, Princeton University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: William Clare Roberts ISBN: 9781400883707
Publisher: Princeton University Press Publication: December 20, 2016
Imprint: Princeton University Press Language: English
Author: William Clare Roberts
ISBN: 9781400883707
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication: December 20, 2016
Imprint: Princeton University Press
Language: English

Marx’s Inferno reconstructs the major arguments of Karl Marx’s Capital and inaugurates a completely new reading of a seminal classic. Rather than simply a critique of classical political economy, William Roberts argues that Capital was primarily a careful engagement with the motives and aims of the workers’ movement. Understood in this light, Capital emerges as a profound work of political theory. Placing Marx against the background of nineteenth-century socialism, Roberts shows how Capital was ingeniously modeled on Dante’s Inferno, and how Marx, playing the role of Virgil for the proletariat, introduced partisans of workers’ emancipation to the secret depths of the modern “social Hell.” In this manner, Marx revised republican ideas of freedom in response to the rise of capitalism.

Combining research on Marx’s interlocutors, textual scholarship, and forays into recent debates, Roberts traces the continuities linking Marx’s theory of capitalism to the tradition of republican political thought. He immerses the reader in socialist debates about the nature of commerce, the experience of labor, the power of bosses and managers, and the possibilities of political organization. Roberts rescues those debates from the past, and shows how they speak to ever-renewed concerns about political life in today’s world.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Marx’s Inferno reconstructs the major arguments of Karl Marx’s Capital and inaugurates a completely new reading of a seminal classic. Rather than simply a critique of classical political economy, William Roberts argues that Capital was primarily a careful engagement with the motives and aims of the workers’ movement. Understood in this light, Capital emerges as a profound work of political theory. Placing Marx against the background of nineteenth-century socialism, Roberts shows how Capital was ingeniously modeled on Dante’s Inferno, and how Marx, playing the role of Virgil for the proletariat, introduced partisans of workers’ emancipation to the secret depths of the modern “social Hell.” In this manner, Marx revised republican ideas of freedom in response to the rise of capitalism.

Combining research on Marx’s interlocutors, textual scholarship, and forays into recent debates, Roberts traces the continuities linking Marx’s theory of capitalism to the tradition of republican political thought. He immerses the reader in socialist debates about the nature of commerce, the experience of labor, the power of bosses and managers, and the possibilities of political organization. Roberts rescues those debates from the past, and shows how they speak to ever-renewed concerns about political life in today’s world.

More books from Princeton University Press

Cover of the book On War and Democracy by William Clare Roberts
Cover of the book Fraud by William Clare Roberts
Cover of the book The I Ching or Book of Changes by William Clare Roberts
Cover of the book Mirror, Mirror by William Clare Roberts
Cover of the book Protestants Abroad by William Clare Roberts
Cover of the book Agents of Apocalypse by William Clare Roberts
Cover of the book Democracy and the Foreigner by William Clare Roberts
Cover of the book The Macropolitics of Congress by William Clare Roberts
Cover of the book The Household by William Clare Roberts
Cover of the book Democracy for Realists by William Clare Roberts
Cover of the book The Origins of the Urban Crisis by William Clare Roberts
Cover of the book Cities of Knowledge by William Clare Roberts
Cover of the book The Quest for Prosperity by William Clare Roberts
Cover of the book The Power and Independence of the Federal Reserve by William Clare Roberts
Cover of the book The China Diary of George H. W. Bush by William Clare Roberts
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy