Engels. A Very Short Introduction

Terrell Carver engels A Very Short Introduction ‘combines a lucid introduction to the thinker with a genuine introduction to scholarly discussion’ British Book News engels A Very Short Introduction Terrell Carver is Professor of Political Theory at the University of Bristol. He is author of Marx’s Social Theory (1982), Marx and Engels: The Intellectual Relationship (1983), Friedrich Engels: His Life and Thought (1989), and The Postmodern Marx (1998). He is also editor of The Cambridge Companion to Marx (1991), and co-editor of Rational Choice Marxism (1995) and Engels after Marx (1999). Terrell Carver This lucid book explores the importance of Friedrich Engels’s thought and work. It would not be an overstatement to say that Engels invented Marxism, or that his work did more than Marx’s to convert people to the most influential political movement of modern times. He was the first Marxist historian, anthropologist, and philosopher, as well as the first commentator on early Marx. Terrell Carver traces his effect on the development of Marxist theory and practice, and discusses the difficulties which Marxists have encountered in defending Engels’s materialism and dialectics. engels A Very Short Introduction VERY SHORT INTRODUCTIONS cover painting: Philip Atkins www.oup.com www.oup.co.uk/vsi ‘a thoroughly good idea. Snappy, smallformat . . . stylish design . . . perfect to pop into your pocket for spare moments’ Lisa Jardine, The Times ISBN 0-19-280466-9 91 9 780192 804662 £6.99 RRP $9.95 USA JN106175 ENGELS VSI OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS CMYK 11/4/03 2 1 Carver stimulating ways in to new subjects 2 ‘A very good idea, these Very Short Introductions, a new concept from OUP’ Nicholas Lezard, Guardian Engels: A Very Short Introduction Very Short Introductions are for anyone wanting a stimulating and accessible way in to a new subject. They are written by experts, and have been published in more than 25 languages worldwide. The series began in 1995, and now represents a wide variety of topics in history, philosophy, religion, science, and the humanities. Over the next few years it will grow to a library of around 200 volumes – a Very Short Introduction to everything from ancient Egypt and Indian philosophy to conceptual art and cosmology. Very Short Introductions available now: ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY Julia Annas THE ANGLO-SAXON AGE John Blair ANIMAL RIGHTS David DeGrazia ARCHAEOLOGY Paul Bahn ARCHITECTURE Andrew Ballantyne ARISTOTLE Jonathan Barnes ART HISTORY Dana Arnold ART THEORY Cynthia Freeland THE HISTORY OF ASTRONOMY Michael Hoskin Atheism Julian Baggini Augustine Henry Chadwick BARTHES Jonathan Culler THE BIBLE John Riches BRITISH POLITICS Anthony Wright Buddha Michael Carrithers BUDDHISM Damien Keown CAPITALISM James Fulcher THE CELTS Barry Cunliffe CHOICE THEORY Michael Allingham CHRISTIAN