Brill Marx's Concept of the Alternative to Capitalism: 36 (Historical Materialism Book)

In contrast to the traditional view that Marx's work is restricted to a critique of capitalism and does not contain a detailed or coherent conception of its alternative, this book shows, through an analysis of his published and unpublished writings, that Marx was committed to a specific concept of a post-capitalist society that informed his critique of value production, alienated labor and capitalist accumulation. Instead of focusing on the present with only a passing reference to the future, Marx's emphasis on capitalism's tendency towards dissolution is rooted in a specific conception of what should replace it. In critically re-examining that conception, this book addresses the quest for an alternative to capitalism that has taken on increased importance today. Review "A particular strength of Hudis's book is that it examines the full sweep of Marx's writings, rather than focus on one particular text or period of Marx's life. No stone is left unturned in attempting to uncover the implicit conception of an alternative [vision to capitalism]. The scope of this allows him to include a number of texts which are often overlooked in this discussion, and offer a number of novel interpretations of works usually discussed in different contexts." - Dan Swain, in: Marx & Philosophy: Review of Books, 1 December 2012 About the Author Peter Hudis, Ph.D. (2011) in Philosophy, Loyola University Chicago, is Professor of Humanities and Philosophy, Oakton Community College. He has published extensively on Marxist theory and is General Editor of The Complete Works of Rosa Luxemburg.