Marx's Concept of Man
 Cover of the 1961 paperback edition | |
| Author | Erich Fromm |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Karl Marx |
| Published | 1961 (Frederick Ungar Publishing Co.) |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover and Paperback) |
| Pages | 263 |
| ISBN | 978-1472513953 |
Marx's Concept of Man is a 1961 book about Karl Marx by psychoanalyst Erich Fromm, in which Fromm portrays Marx as a humanist and existentialist thinker. The work sold widely thanks to the popularity of Marx's early writings, which was a product of the existentialism of the 1940s.
Summary
Fromm portrays Marx as a humanist and existentialist thinker,[1] and compares Marxism to Zen Buddhism.[2] He praises Reason and Revolution (1941), one of Herbert Marcuse's books on Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, and provides selections from several of Marx's works,[3] including a translation of the Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844 by Tom Bottomore,[4] professor at the London School of Economics.[5] Fromm briefly discusses the view of Marxist philosopher György Lukács, noting that in History and Class Consciousness (1923) Lukács views Marx as an "eschatological thinker."[6]
Reception
Political scientist David McLellan writes that Marx's Concept of Man sold widely thanks to the popularity of Marx's early writings, which was a product of the existentialism of the 1940s. He sees the work as a typical example of the favorable reception of the young Marx.[2] Philosopher Hazel Barnes compares Fromm's views of Marx and Marxism to those of Jean-Paul Sartre in her introduction to Sartre's Search for a Method (1957).[7] Rainer Funk, author of a biography of Fromm, writes that the Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844 were published for the first time in English in Fromm's work, the translation by Bottomore having been done at Fromm's suggestion.[5]
References
Footnotes
- ^ McLellan 1995. p. 441.
- ^ a b McLellan 1975. p. 79.
- ^ Fromm 1975. p. ix.
- ^ McLellan 1995. p. 267.
- ^ a b Funk 2000. p. 147.
- ^ Fromm 1975. p. 69.
- ^ Barnes 1968. pp. xxix-xxx.
Bibliography
- Books
- Barnes, Hazel; Sartre, Jean-Paul (1968). Search for a Method. New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 0-394-70464-9.
- Fromm, Erich (1975). Marx's Concept of Man. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co. ISBN 0-8044-6161-9.
- Funk, Rainer (2000). Erich Fromm: His Life and Ideas. New York: The Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 0-8264-1224-6.
- McLellan, David (1975). Marx. Glasgow: Fontana. ISBN 0-333-63947-2.
- McLellan, David (1995). Karl Marx: A Biography. London: Papermac. ISBN 0-333-63947-2.
- McLellan, David (1995). The Thought of Karl Marx: An Introduction. London: Papermac. ISBN 0-333-63948-0.
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