Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Start by marking “Marx: A Very Short Introduction” as Want to Read:
Marx: A Very Short Introduction
Enlarge cover
Rate this book
Clear rating
Open Preview

Marx: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions #28)

by
3.67  ·  Rating details ·  1,267 Ratings  ·  131 Reviews
In Marx: A Very Short Introdution, Peter Singer identifies the central vision that unifies Marx's thought, enabling us to grasp Marx's views as a whole. He sees him as a philosopher primarily concerned with human freedom, rather than as an economist or a social scientist. In plain English, he explains alienation, historical materialism, the economic theory of Capital, and ...more
Paperback, 108 pages
Published 2001 by Oxford University Press (first published 1980)
More Details... edit details

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30)
filter  |  sort: default (?)  |  Rating Details
Foad
بعد از گذشت بیش از یک قرن، اغلب پیش بینی های مارکس به قدری آشکارا نادرست از آب در آمده اند که آدم از دیدن کسانی که با مارکس همدلند و سعی می کنند نشان دهند که بزرگی مارکس در جنبه های "علمی" کارش نهفته است به تعجب می افتد. فاصلۀ میان فقیر و غنی در کل جهان صنعتی کاهش یافته است. دلیل این امر عمدتاً افزایش دستمزدهای واقعی است. امروزه درآمد کارگران کارخانه ها به مراتب بیش از آن است که برای "تنها زنده ماندن" به آن نیاز دارند. آهنگ سود به طور مستمر کاهش نیافته است. سرمایه داری بحران های متعددی را پشت سر ...more
Riku Sayuj

Singer looks at Marx, the Philosopher, and relegates Marx, the Economist to the background. This allows Singer to put aside all the 'refuted' aspects of Marx and focus on the key and relevant ideas. Singer discusses alienation and historical materialism in some detail and tracks their evolution in Marx's thought, but the most interesting segment is when he tries to pin down marx's own conceptions of what a communist utopia should be like. Turns out Marx was extremely pragmatic about it and let s
...more
Mohammad
نسبت به حجم 140 صفحه ای آن، کتاب بسیار خوبی است: کتابی از سری «مقدمه بسیار کوتاه» آکسفورد که نشر ماهی کمر به ترجمه آنها بسته است
لب کلام نویسنده این است که مارکس را باید به عنوان یک فیلسوف منتقد مهم دانست، اما به عنوان یک دانشمند علم اقتصاد که با علمی دانستن نظریه خود پیشگویی هم کرده است نباید به او دل بست. این رویکرد را بسیاری به مارکس دارند. به عبارت دیگر، جنبه سلبی آثار مارکس (تحلیل اقتصاد سرمایه داری و روابط اجتماعی برآمده از آن)، بسیار بسیار مهم تر از از جنبه ایجابی آنها (پیش بینی و تجویز ان
...more
Ahmad Sharabiani
Marx: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions #28), Peter Singer
مارکس 1818 - 1883 بنیانگذار تفسیر مادی از تاریخ و منادی جنگ طبقاتی، تاثیر مارکس بر علم اقتصاد، فلسفه و تمامی شعب اندیشه های اجتماعی و سیاسی بی تردید بسیار عمیق بوده است. از نظر سینگر، دلمشغولی اصلی مارکس، آزادی انسان بوده است. چشم انتظار جامعه ای کمونیستی که می بایست سرشت انسان را متحول کند
Hrishabh Chaudhary
Jun 10, 2015 rated it liked it
A book about Marx and Marxism, more about Marx than Marxism. OK, OK, you got that from the title, I just wanted to underscore the point that the book is a cross between a short biography and an introduction to Marxism, which I think is the winning-point for this book; it doesn’t bore you with awful lot personal life details or overwhelm you with too much political and economic stuff. Rather it starts with a brief account of Marx’s life and impact of his ideas, and goes on to trace genesis of Mar ...more
Sabyasachi mitra
Jan 10, 2012 rated it did not like it
This is rather a misleading guide to Marx. The author's opinion is not only heavily loaded against Marxist school of Economics but also misguide the reader on the truthfulness of several important assertion of Marx on the basic contradiction of Capitalism .

The Author claims that the rate of profit has not fallen , as was predicted by Marx, and wage rate in Advanced Capitalist countries has rather gone northwards. Only after the great recession has struck us do we find that the this assertion is
...more
ali ammari
Jul 10, 2017 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
من باب آشنایی اجمالی با متفکری که به قول روژه گارودی هرکس خواه نا خواه باید تکلیف خودش را با او روشن کند، بسیار کتاب خوبی است، سینگر نشان میدهد که چرا مارکسِ دانشمند پیشگوی تاریخ و اقتصاد در مقام تجویز، چندان اعتباری برای امروز ندارد و در عین حال متفکری که بصیرت هایش در باب فهم ماهیت نظام سرمایهداری، درک عمیقش از مفهوم آزادی و از خود بیگانگی انسان امروز، در مقام متفکری انتقادی، تا چه میزان دوران سازو شگرف بوده است. ...more
Aron
Dec 11, 2010 rated it really liked it
This is a highly readable introduction to Marx written by a philosopher who generally writes highly readable philosophical tracts.

As others have noted Singer too easily dismisses Marx contribution to economic theory. Classical economists appalling lack of success as "scientists" have once again been aired out in our most recent "crisis of capitalism." On the other hand, critics of classical economics such as Steve Keen, whose economic models accurately predicted the financial crisis, acknowledg
...more
Mohamed al-Jamri
Jan 02, 2015 rated it liked it
مقدمات قصيرة جدا سلسلة كتب متوسطة الحجم (مئة إلى مئتين صفحة) من اوكسفورد من تأليف متخصصين ولكنها موجهة نحو الجمهور العام - الكتب مبسطة والمفروض أي شخص يقدر يقراها بسهولة.

تتناول السلسلة موضوعات كثيرة جدا مثل التاريخ والفلسفة والاديان والشخصيات والمصطلحات السياسية وموضوعات أخرى كثيرة. حاليا هناك ثلاث مئة وتسعين كتابا في السلسلة ويتوقع اضافة ثلاثين كتاب اخر السنة القادمة.

طريقة الكتابة جميلة جدا تجعل القراءة ممتعة حتى النهاية. مثلا حينما قرأت الكتاب عن الفيلسوف الألماني المعروف ماركس تعرفت على ضروف
...more
Matt
Aug 25, 2014 rated it really liked it
A great book. A lucid introduction to Marx. Easy to read and well structured.

Here are my reading notes.

# To Remember

- A lot of Marx's rhetoric comes from Hegel (a dialectic leading to historical progress)
- Marx was mostly wrong on his economic predictions
- He is to be treated as a philosopher more than an economist if we are to get value out of his thought
- For him, the really real was the economic powers that shape our societies

# Concepts

## Surplus Value

In classical economics, the capitalist hi
...more
Harold
Mar 01, 2011 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: politics-history
Marx is a name that gets bandied around too much. People are vilified for being a marxist while others proudly proclaim their Marxism. For a long time I've had the feeling that the majority of people on either side of the political fence just toss the name around and know nothing of what Marxism is. I know that I read the Communist Manifesto in College - Far enough back that I remember little of it. When I saw this volume in the B&N bargain section I thought it would be a good opportunity to ...more
Quentin Crisp
Jul 07, 2016 rated it really liked it
This was pretty good, except that Singer's treatment of Hegel seemed to me superficial and wrong-headed. Anyway, of the Very Short Introduction series that I've read so far, this is the one most like a satisfying work in its own right.
Pedro
Oct 05, 2015 rated it it was ok
A good Bio, but not much else... i dout that who made this book ever understod any thing about marxism
Rogério Alvarenga
Jul 18, 2017 rated it it was amazing
Não se pode desprezar os diagnósticos e ainda menos os sentimentos incrustados no marxismo, essa porrada visionária que, embora cheia de mofo e naftalina, tem um que de fundamentalmente inescapável e inspirador; gostemos ou não, não importa. O pau está na mesa. Veja, desprezar o negócio seria uma bobeira porque primeiro, Marx está correto em algumas das suas críticas à sociedade capitalista e segundo, porque a sua indignação, o seu ódio e o seu apelo à justiça proletária a todo custo moveu céus ...more
Yuu Suwapee
Jun 12, 2017 rated it it was ok  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: 2017
แนวคิดของมารกซออกจะซับซอน และไมคอยเปนรูปธรรมเขาใจยากอยูแลว รวมกับสำนวนการแปลทีคอนขางทือ และใชศัพทยาก เชน สมาทาน, ทัศนวิภาษวิธี, ความจริงอันติมะ, ฯลฯ แตเขาใจวาเพือคงไวซึงเนือความตนฉบับ ถือวาอานยากมาก สำหรับมือใหมทางปรัชญาอยางเรา ...more
Megan
Jan 06, 2008 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
Singer's lucid writing allows him to pack quite a bit into this rather short book, in which he presents key points from Marx's works with precision and clarity. I think this would be an excellent choice for anyone looking for an introduction to Marx's thought. For me, it was a good and quick refresher on some central concepts and vocabulary in Marx that had slipped since my Soc class first year of undergrad.

An interesting point to note: at the book's end, in addition to commenting on the unfortu
...more
Thomas
Jan 21, 2016 rated it really liked it
Shelves: politics, history
A nice followup to Singer's VSI to Hegel, and it is very much a philosophical and Hegel-oriented treatment. It is also more than a "Marx Made Easy" approach -- Singer is not averse to sharing his opinions about Marx whilst he presents salient points of interest. He doesn't think much of Marx as a "scientist" and presents a compelling argument to that effect. Nor does he see communism as a realistic economic option. This is not a difficult argument to make, but I wouldn't call it disinterested re ...more
kaśyap
Nov 24, 2012 rated it really liked it
Shelves: politics
The author of this introduction focuses mainly on the philosophical side of karl marx and his important contribution to the idea of freedom and his enduring criticism of the capitalist society.what Marx gave us is a much richer idea of freedom than the superficial liberal view of it.This introduction will show the readers the beauty of many of Marx's writings.
But the author is wrong in dismissing Marx's contribution to economics too easily.In fact many of Marx's predictions have actually turned
...more
Vance Dubberly
Dec 01, 2013 rated it it was ok
I guess I was expecting an introduction to Marxism, this is definitely no such book. The author spends almost as much time on his own opinions of Marxism as he does on Marx's philosophy. The book is a short crappy biography of Karl Marx that touches on his ideas only long enough to dismiss them as out of date and irrelevant. I expect better from this series. This book will give neither the curious reader, the anti-Marxist or pro-Marxist anything to chew on. Don't waste your time.
David
Apr 19, 2009 rated it really liked it
This does what a good introduction should do -- provides a general framework, answers the important questions on the subject, and leaves the reader wanting more. I love the section on the connection between Marx and Hegel -- how Marx is using Hegel's ideas to develop his concept of the dialectical. Singer also spends enough time to establish who Marx was as a man, not just what he accomplished in terms of philosophical/historical insights.
Kars
Aug 22, 2016 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
After reading the umpteenth thing referencing Marx I thought enough is enough, I need to get some grounding in his writings. A search turned this up and I can say it does what it says on the tin. Singer offers a brief biography of Marx, offers an overview of his writings, then clearly summarizes each of his key ideas and wraps up with critical appraisal of Marx's worth today. I feel much better equipped to read stuff referencing Marx now. A great little book.
Hamid Hasanzadeh
Jul 30, 2013 rated it really liked it
Shelves: philosophy
پیتر سینگر در این کتاب به زبانی بسیار ساده سیر زندگی کارل مارکس فقید، و مسیر پختگی افکارش را به خوبی نشان می دهد. او چگونه پس از مرگ پدرش به تکاپو افتاد ، چگونه با تاثیر از هگل افکار خود را شکل داد، زندگی انسان را در جامعه ای سرمایه داری شدیدا نقد کرد ، و کمونیسم خود را ارائه داد که در قرن 20ام به مشکلات عدیده ای برخورد.این کتاب ترجمه شده توسط محمد اسکندری و در انتشارات طرح نو چاپ شده و برای اشنایی ساده با زندگی و آموزه های مارکس بسیار مناسب است.
Jason Canada
Aug 26, 2016 rated it really liked it
concise book that points out Marx's many mistakes but points out his main endevour: the freedom of man from ideology, the greatest of which in his day was and is capitalism.
he wished for us to control our culture rather than our culture control us.
leighcia
Sep 26, 2008 rated it liked it
Shelves: non-fiction
This was an interesting and easy to understand introduction into Karl Marx’s life, ideas and influence. Singer particularly highlighted Karl Marx’s biography (his surprisingly unproletariat life), his evolution of thought, key concepts and his influences.
Amir The Fat Bookworm
Dec 27, 2016 rated it really liked it
Shelves: philosophy
A very short, critical and wide survey of Marx's works and life. I enjoyed it, specially the assessment at the end of it. Though I guess many concepts deserve more explanation, but I think that might require a much more comprehensive medium.
Nathan
Apr 20, 2013 rated it really liked it
Exactly what it says on the tin. A concise, well-written and approachable introduction to his philosophies. You get the general gist without having to understand global political history inside out, and does well to avoid the often tedious discussions of economics.
Valdemar Gomes
Aug 21, 2015 rated it liked it
Good intro into his philosophy and quite funny in the bio, but pretty shite in everything else.
Dean
Feb 16, 2012 rated it liked it
I (L) Peter Singz
João Ritto
Aug 13, 2017 rated it it was amazing
When my parents asked me what I was reading and I told them I was reading a book about Marx my father said: "I read somewhere that they are celebrating soon the anniversary of his birth (probably the 200th birthday next year), that son of a bitch". In a way I think this pretty much sums up one of the two common opinions about Marx - a lot of people hate him as if he was Stalin's best friend and others venerate him like a secular prophet.

What this book shows is that none of those two attitudes se
...more
Yashar
May 15, 2017 rated it really liked it
Shelves: non-fiction
For a short introduction, this book has described the main points of Marxism properly but it's evaluations, especially regarding the economic teachings of Marxism, are outdated and some are obviously wrong which are due to the short-sidedness of the last decades of 20th century.
For example, it can now be clearly observed that the capitalist system can't sustain high rates of profit (as we are in zero or negative interest rates era), and that the wealth gap hasn't been reduced due to rise in real
...more
« previous 1 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 next »
There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »
  • Nietzsche: A Very Short Introduction
  • Heidegger: A Very Short Introduction
  • Kant: A Very Short Introduction
  • Communism: A Very Short Introduction
  • Socialism: A Very Short Introduction
  • Descartes: A Very Short Introduction
  • Hobbes: A Very Short Introduction
  • Locke: A Very Short Introduction
  • Hume: A Very Short Introduction
  • Critical Theory: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)
  • Socrates: A Very Short Introduction
  • Schopenhauer: A Very Short Introduction
  • Aristotle: A Very Short Introduction
  • Kierkegaard: A Very Short Introduction
  • Wittgenstein: A Very Short Introduction
  • Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction
  • Continental Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction
  • Freud: A Very Short Introduction
12397
Peter Albert David Singer is an Australian philosopher. He is the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University, and laureate professor at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics (CAPPE), University of Melbourne. He specializes in applied ethics, approaching ethical issues from a secular preference utilitarian perspective.

He has served, on two occasions, as chair of phil
...more
More about Peter Singer...

Other Books in the Series

Very Short Introductions (1 - 10 of 519 books)
  • A Very Short Introduction to Everything
  • Classics: A Very Short Introduction
  • Music: A Very Short Introduction
  • Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction
  • Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction
  • Hinduism: A Very Short Introduction
  • Psychology: A Very Short Introduction
  • Islam: A Very Short Introduction
  • Politics: A Very Short Introduction
  • Theology: A Very Short Introduction

Share This Book

“Egoism... is not eliminated by economic reorganization or by material abundance. When basic needs are satisfied, new 'needs' emerge. In our society, people want no simply clothes, but fashionable clothes; not shelter, but a house to display their wealth and taste.” 1 likes
“Marx saw that capitalism is a wasteful, irrational system, a system which controls us when we should be controlling it. That insight is still valid; but we can now see that the construction of a free and equal society is a more difficult task than Marx realized.” 1 likes
More quotes…