Marx's Construction of Social Theory Paperback / softback

by J. Barbalet

Part of the Routledge Library Editions: Marxism series

Paperback / softback

Out of stock

Description

This study, first published in 1983, explores the connections between Marxâ€™s philosophy and his empirical analysis of society and state, by showing the different meanings of many of Marxâ€™s concepts as their role in his theory changes and the theory itself develops.

Beginning with an examination of Marxâ€™s search for a sound epistemological basis on which to build a social theory, Dr Barbalet then gives an analysis of the way in which Marx continually modifies the concepts he uses, and continues with an examination of the different functions they are given in different theoretical settings.

Various nuances of Marxâ€™s thought, often obscured by the simplistic â€˜early-lateâ€™ dichotomy, are revealed by Dr Barbaletâ€™s close attention to the progressive transformation of Marxâ€™s concepts and by his scrupulous analysis of them in not only their textual but also their theoretical context.

Finally, the book examines the manner in which Marxâ€™s construction of social theory, by its very nature, means that some material is replaced by other theoretical fabric as the theoretical structure itself is in different ways dismantled and reorganised, as Marxâ€™s thought evolves and develops.