Written in 1844 as a series of notes, Marx's posthumously published critiques on the conditions of modern industrialist societies forms the foundation of the author's denunciation of capitalism. Combining elements of psychology, sociology, and anthropology, it is a profound examination of the human condition rooted in a philosophy of economics. In this concise treatise, Marx presents an indictment of capitalism and its threat to the working man, his...

"Karl Marx's 1848 text is reframed in this revised Norton Critical Edition in the context of twenty-first-century theoretical debates, capitalist globalization, the information technology revolution, and contemporary struggles up to and including the 2011 "Arab Spring." Simultaneously extolled in its day as truth incarnate and the inspiration for a life-and-death struggle for humankind's liberation and condemned as the vilest of propaganda on behalf...

First published in 1884, "The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State" is the groundbreaking treatise on the history of the nuclear family unit by Friedrich Engels. Largely based on notes written by Karl Marx found by Engels after his death, the treatise examines the findings in American anthropologist Lewis H. Morgan's book "Ancient Society", which posits that human progress may be divided into three stages: savagery, then barbarism,...

When Karl Marx declared religion the opium of the people, he voiced a central tenet of the philosophy that bears his name. In this collection of essays and letters by Marx and his colleague, Friedrich Engels, the founders of Marxism discuss their perspectives on the origins and essence of religion. These writings constitute the theoretical basis of proletarian Marxist atheism. The authors trace the rise of religious belief from primitive humans' struggles...

One of the most notorious works of modern times, as well as one of the most influential, Capital is an incisive critique of private property and the social relations it generates. Living in exile in England, where this work was largely written, Marx drew on a wide-ranging knowledge of its society to support his analysis and generate fresh insights. Arguing that capitalism would create an ever-increasing division in wealth and welfare, he predicted...