The Portable Karl Marx (Viking Portable Library)

As we progress along the years with Marx, he begins to develop his redoubtable historical materialist conception of history. This is a "scientific" thesis that all societies pass through slavery, feudalism, and capitalism and then capitalism starts to break down because of its own "contradictions." In unrestrained capitalism, capitalists try to maximize profit anyway they can. They build up excess capacity of factories and other facilities to try to compete but unfortunately in unregulated competition, all but a select few are destroyed. The petit bourgeoisie i.e. peasants and small business owners are also wiped out by big business. The capitalists in order to keep up their rate of profit, increase the hours of their slaves and try to reduce their wages and getting out of doing anything for them to make their conditions better. The capitalist system will eventually collapse from all of this and the urban wage slaves, the proletariat will take over the means of production, eventually instituting democratic workers control over these means. As Prof. Kamenka notes later, it is rather vague if Marx conceived of various measures to forestall capitalism's, destabilization. ...

His writings from the Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte are certainly interesting, though his efforts to apply his theories to the situation in France somewhat take away from his analysis of the events. He conceives the France under Louis Philippe (1830-48) to be under the control one of section of the bourgeoisie, basically stock market swindlers. The rest of the proprietered classes revolted against this one faction in 1848. The ruling classes promised the proletariat radical democratic reforms to get their support for the overthrow but once they had consolidated their power, they massacred them into submission. The peasants were the majority of France at that time, and they, of course, valued stability above all else to maintain their meager property. The Bourgeois republic that was consolidated in 1848 could not provide the requisite stablity for capitalist operations, so up rose Louis Bonaparte, nephew of Napoleon to establish a dictatorship.

In his article,"The Indian revolt" from 1857 he breaks free from the vague theorizing and comes out with first rate journalism pure and simple. He reminds his readers that with all the hocus pocus of holy horror in England of the atrocities of the Indian sepoys , British troops were raping and burning down villages in China not that long ago. He quotes the proud numerous proud accounts from British soldiers of routine racist massacre and torture. Such as "not a day passes but we string up ten to fifteen of them(noncombatants)" and "every nigger we meet we either string up or shoot."

Another first rate piece of journalism, is his inagural address to the international working of 1864. Again, no tedious theorizing but a straightforward report on the condition of the British working classes. This was in a period, he notes, which the Chancellor of the Excheqeur slobbered over as a period of unprecedented expansion of wealth for all Britons. He contrasts this with a quote from William Gladstone that this increase in wealth was actually exclusvely confined to the property-owning minority. He quotes extensively from house of lords reports that worry about the severe malnourishment among agricultural laborers and which also noteed that the worst conditions of these laborers was better than the average amongst urban laborers.

The best writing by far is his stuff on the Paris commune of 1871, after France's defeat by Bismark's Prussia. Prussia and the French elite combined to crush these communes. These communes were set up as local, regional and national bodies. However, the local communes had the predominant power. Each body selected delegates to the higher bodies. Each body had reprehensive from the working class paid at workingperson's wages. Any government official could be removed from power at anytime by a recall type action. This is clearly what Marx had in mind as a system to govern the "transition to communism," instead of the dictatorship over the proletariat that was set up in the so-called "communist states" under his name.

The Critique of the Gotha program for 1875 consists of Marx attacking the German workers party somewhat pedantically but it consists of interesting comments. He denounces the party for its advocacy of state power to achieve its ends. He even denounces them for calling for government control of the schools.


Students of philosophy, unite and buy this book!   May 20, 2000
Timothy Walker (Orlando, Florida USA)
16 out of 18 found this review helpful

This book is an outstanding overview of the life and thoughts of Karl Marx. The editor masterfully weaves together Marx's published works and private letters into a rich tapestry of history and ideas.

In addition to what you might expect to find in a collection like this (the text of The Communist Manifesto, selections from Das Kapital...), there are also tidbits from Marx's hand that help you truly understand the man and the history of his ideology, from his predictions on the fates of France and Russia, even down to his favorite color (red, of course) and his old report cards.

No serious student of economic and political philosophy should be without an understanding of Karl Marx. This book provides it like no other.


A rich, accessible introduction to Karl Marx   September 14, 2000
TheIrrationalMan (Basildon, United Kingdom)
12 out of 12 found this review helpful

"The Portable Karl Marx" is a splendid anthology of Marx' writings, political, philosophical and economic. The book also features a selection of Marx' personal letters, his university records and various private documents, including his birth certificate, all which help to illuminate the character of one of the prophets of the modern age. The compendium of extracts traces Marx' intellectual trajectory, from his early discipleship to the critical idealism of Hegel, onto his maturity, by which time he had established himself as a luminary of political thought. The chief doctrines of his mature philosophy are expounded here, such as historical materialism, surplus value and the class struggle, which would be generated by the contradictions and tensions of capitalism itself, leading to the growth of an educated proletariat which would free themselves from their yoke and revolt to usher in the era of communism. Karl Marx is, along with Freud and Nietzsche, one of the focal points of the culture of the twentieth century. Contemporary debates on political philosophy cannot do without having recourse to, or at least coming to terms with, his shattering insights and path-making formulations.


Fine Introduction   May 7, 2007
Mr. Bloom (New York)
There is little question that Marx was the most important economic/political theorist of the modern era. The question then, is how to present an overview of his thought in a single volume.

This collection includes sections from Marx's earlier more philosophical period as a gradute student. It includes his dissertation on democritus and Epicurus as well as the famous essay 'On the Jewish Question.'

Additionally, there is the great 'German Ideology,' 'Gundrisse,' and the Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte (one of the most important works on political revolution in the entire literature. Of course you will also find the Manifesto, and selections from Capital (though far from comprehensive) as well as the Economic-Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844.

I was also pleased with the editor's inclusion of several letters of Marx between him and friends and family, mostly Engels. Also, there are report cards from the young Marx while he was in school, a fun extra.

The Portable Marx is a good way to begin to immerse yourself in Marx, though only a thorough reading of Capital will really allow you to appreciate the depth and range of his genius.