Alienation: Marx's Conception of Man in a Capitalist Society / Edition 2

by Bertell Ollman

Overview

In this book, the most thorough account of Marx's theory of alienation yet to have appeared in English, Professor Ollman reconstructs the theory from its constituent parts and offers it as a vantage point from which to view the rest of Marxism. The book further contains a detailed examination of Marx's philosophy of internal relations, the much neglected logical foudation of his method, and provides a systematic account of Marx's conception of human nature. Because of its almost unique concern with helping readers understand Marx's unusual use of language, Alienation has proven very popular in university courses on Marxism on both undergraduate and graduate levels. The first edition was widely reviewed, and in this new edition Professor Ollman replies to his critics in 'More on internal relations,' published here as Appendix II. In addition to this new appendix the author now provides a more systematic discussion of Marx's theory of ideology, elements of which were formerly dispersed throughout the book. He also attempts to set the treatment of political alienation within the broader framework of Marx's theory of the state as a model of how an approach based on internal relations can be used to integrate various apparently contradictory interpretations of Marx's views.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521290838
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	01/28/1977
Series:	Cambridge Studies in the History and Theory of Politics
Edition description:	Revised
Pages:	360
Product dimensions:	5.47(w) x 8.19(h) x 0.94(d)
Lexile:	1560L (what's this?)

Table of Contents

Part I. Philosophical Introduction: 1. With words that appear like bats; 2. Social relations as subject matter; 3. The philosophy of internal relations; 4. Is there a Marxian ethic: 5. Dialectic as outlook; 6. Dialectic as inquiry and exposition; Part II. Marx's Conception of Human Nature: 7. Powers and needs; 8. Natural man; 9. Species man; 10. Relating man to objects: orientation, perception; 11. Appropriation; 12. Nature as evidence; 13. Activity, work, creativity; 14. Man's social nature; 15. The character of the species; 16. Freedom as essence; 17. Man, classes, people; Part III. The Theory of Alienation: 18. The theory of alienation; 19. Man's relation to his productive activity; 20. Man's relation to his product; 21. Man's relation to his fellow men; 22. Man's relation to his species; 23. The capitalist's alienation; 24. The division of labor and private property; 25. The labor theory of value: labor-power; 26. Value as alienated labor; 27. The metamorphosis of value; 28. The fetishism of commoditites; 29. Class as a value relation; 30. State as a value relation; 31. Religion as a value relation; 32. Marx's critique of bourgeois ideology; Part IV. Conclusion: 33. A critical evaluation; Appendices.

Editorial Reviews

' … a remarkable book … Ollman has discovered a kind of Ariadne's thread through the maze of Marxian linguistic problems … brilliant and illuminating.' New York Review of Books

'Ollman's book distinguishes itself from the rest by virtue of its scholarly concentration, readability, sobriety and above all relevance to issues which are central, not only to an understanding of marx, but also (even more importantly) to an understanding of the complex world which Marx himself endeavored to comprehend and describe.' Political Studies

' … as authoritative and comprehensive a study as any I have read. But the striking originality of the book lies in its method, in the preliminary alanysis which Ollman undertakes to study Marx's 'peculiar' use of terms.' Science and Society

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