For Marx
by Louis Althusser
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This is the work in which Louis Althusser formulated some of his most influential ideas. For Marx, first published in France in 1968, has come to be regarded as the founding text of the school of "structuralist Marxism" which was presided over by the fascinating and enigmatic figure of Louis Althusser. Structuralism constituted an intellectual revolution in the 1960s and 1970s and radically transformed the way philosophy, political and social theory, history, science, and aesthetics were show more discussed and thought about. For Marx was a key contribution to that process and it fundamentally recast the way in which many people understood Marx and Marxism. This book contains the classic statements of Althusser's analysis of the young Marx and the importance of Feuerbach during this formative period, of his thesis of the "epistomological break" between the early and the late Marx, and of his conception of dialectics, contradiction and "overdetermination." Also included is a study of the materialist theater of Bertolazzi and Brecht and the critique of humanist readings of Marxism. Since his death in 1990, Althusser's legacy has come under renewed examination and it is increasingly recognized that the influence of his ideas has been wider and deeper than previously thought: reading For Marx, in its audacity, originality and rigor, will explain why this impact was so significant. show lessTags
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"[Althusser] is a professional philosopher who is also a prominent member of the [French Communist] Party without being committed to the official eclecticism. For Althusser, a complete Marxist philosophy remains an unfulfilled desideratum. Only the cornerstone of the building has been laid: the structure remains to be erected. For all its apparent modesty, this approach discloses a resolute determination to build a total system. Is it an accident that Althusser (like Antonio Gramsci a generation earlier) operates within a Catholic culture, as the theorist of a movement which for its adherents has become a substitute for the Church? At any rate the effective completion of his project points in the direction of an all-encompassing show more synthesis. Impressive in its way, there is nonetheless something scholastic about it. One wonders what Marx would have thought of it."(citations omitted) (1966) show less
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170 works; 1 member
Author Information
155+ Works 3,890 Members
Louis Althusser (1918-1990) was a leading Marxist philosopher and an influential figure in the French Communist Party. He taught philosophy for many years at the cole Normale Suprieure in Paris and his many books include For Marx and Reading Capital (with tienne Balibar and others) and Lenin and Philosophy.
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Belongs to Publisher Series
Radical Thinkers (2 - Set 1(2))
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- For Marx
- Original title
- Pour Marx
- Original publication date
- 1965
Classifications
- Genres
- Philosophy, Nonfiction, General Nonfiction, Politics and Government, Literature Studies and Criticism, History
- DDC/MDS
- 193 — Philosophy and Psychology Modern western philosophy Philosophy of Germany and Austria
- LCC
- B3305 .M74 .A65 — Philosophy, Psychology and Religion Philosophy (General) By period Modern By region or country
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 664
- Popularity
- 43,158
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.92)
- Languages
- 7 — English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 18
- ASINs
- 14
