A Marx reading list
Primary texts
Almost invariably the best English translations are contained in MECW. In particular, the translations in MECW 3 are to be preferred over the Livingstone/Benton translations of Early Writings and the O’Malley translation of CHPR. An exception to this is the Fowkes translation of Capital Vol. 1 (Penguin), which nevertheless has its own problems.
A. Recommended readings: general
I. I. Rubin, Essays on Marx’s Theory of Value, trans. Miloš Samardžija and Fredy Perlman 1972 (Russian original 1923, 3rd edn 1928 [basis of the English translation]).
See also further essays by Rubin in Richard B. Day and Daniel Gaido (eds.), Responses to Marx’s Capital 2018.
Evgeny Pashukanis, Law and Marxism: A General Theory, trans. Barbara Einhorn/ed. Chris Arthur 1978 (Russian original 1924).
Georg Lukács, History and Class Consciousness, trans. Rodney Livingstone 1971 (German original Geschichte und Klassenbewußtsein, 1923/1968).
Dieter Henrich, ‘Karl Marx als Schüler Hegels’ [1961], in Hegel im Kontext 1971/2010.
Louis Althusser, Étienne Balibar, Roger Establet, Pierre Macherey and Jacques Rancière, Reading Capital, trans. Ben Brewster and David Fernbach 2016 (abridged English edn trans. Ben Brewster [Althusser and Balibar material only] 1970/2009, French original Lire Le Capital 1965 (Nouvelle édition revue 2014)).
Louis Althusser, For Marx, trans. Ben Brewster 1969 (French original Pour Marx 1965).
Roman Rosdolsky, The Making of Marx’s ‘Capital’ 1977 (German original Entstehungsgeschichte des Marxschen ‘Kapital’ 1968).
Galvano della Volpe, Rousseau and Marx, and Other Writings, trans. John Fraser 1978 (Italian original Rousseau e Marx 1964).
Galvano della Volpe, Logic as a Positive Science, trans. Jon Rothschild 1980 (Italian original Logica come scienza positiva 1950, revised as Logica come scienza storica [basis of the English translation despite restoration of the original title] 1969).
Lucio Colletti, Marxism and Hegel, trans. Lawrence Garner 1973 (Italian original Il Marxismo e Hegel 1969).
Lucio Colletti, From Rousseau to Lenin, trans. John Merrington and Judith White 1972 (Italian original Ideologia e società 1969).
Lucio Colletti, Introduction, trans. Tom Nairn, to Marx, Early Writings, trans. Rodney Livingstone and Gregor Benton 1975.
Carol C. Gould, Marx’s Social Ontology: Individuality and Community in Marx’s Theory of Social Reality 1978.
Kojin Karatani, Marx: Towards the Centre of Possibility, trans. Gavin Walker 2020 (Japanese original 1978).
David J. Depew, ‘Aristotle’s De Anima and Marx’s Theory of Man’, Graduate Faculty Philosophy Journal 1981.
Scott Meikle, Essentialism in the Thought of Karl Marx 1985.
Michael Heinrich, ‘Capital in General and the Structure of Marx’s Capital’, trans. Pete Burgess, Capital and Class 1989.
David J. Depew, ‘The Polis Transfigured: Aristotle’s Politics and Marx’s Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right’, in George E. McCarthy (ed.), Marx and Aristotle 1992.
Étienne Balibar, The Philosophy of Marx, trans. Chris Turner 1995 (French original La philosophie de Marx 1993).
Kojin Karatani, Transcritique: On Kant and Marx, trans. Sabu Kohso 2003 (Japanese original 2001).
B. Recommended readings: economic
Rosa Luxemburg, The Accumulation of Capital, trans. Agnes Schwarzschild 1951 (German original Die Akkumulation des Kapitals 1913).
Paul M. Sweezy, The Theory of Capitalist Development: Principles of Marxian Political Economy 1942.
Joan Robinson, An Essay on Marxian Economics 1942 (2nd edn 1966).
Samezō Kuruma, Marx’s Theory of the Genesis of Money, trans. Michael Schauerte 2008/2018 (Japanese original 1957).
Ernest Mandel, Marxist Economic Theory, trans. Brian Pearce, 2 vols. 1962 (French original 1960).
Mark Blaug, Economic Theory in Retrospect 1962.
Kōzō Uno, Principles of Political Economy, trans. Thomas T. Sekine 1980 (Japanese original 1964).
Suzanne de Brunhoff, Marx on Money, trans. Maurice J. Goldbloom 1976 (French original La monnaie chez Marx 1973).
Diane Elson, ‘The Value Theory of Labour’, in Elson (ed.), Value: The Representation of Labour in Capitalism 1979.
C. Recommended readings: literary
Jacques Derrida, Specters of Marx 1994 (French original: Spectres de Marx 1993).
D. Recommended readings: historical
Geoffrey de Ste Croix
Ellen Meiksins Wood
E. Classics of the Engels/Lenin/diamat deviation
Friedrich Engels, Dialectics of Nature, in MECW 25 (German original: Dialektik der Natur, published USSR 1925).
V. I. Lenin, Philosophical Notebooks.
F. Classics of the humanist/existentialist deviation
Erich Fromm, Marx’s Concept of Man 1961.
G. Classics of the liberal/utilitarian/social democrat deviation
G. A. Cohen, Karl Marx’s Theory of History: A Defence 1978. A defence of doctrinaire diamat by ‘analytic’ means.
Norman Geras, Marx and Human Nature: Refutation of a Legend 1983.
H. Classic bourgeois critiques
Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk, Karl Marx and the Close of His System, trans. Alice M. Macdonald 1898 (German original: Zum Abschluß des Marxschen Systems 1896).