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Species-being and capital

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posted on 2023-06-08, 12:56 authored by Andrew Chitty
This paper compares Marx's first conception of capital, in 1844, to his conception of the modern political state in 1843. It argues that in 1843 Marx conceives the modern democratic state as realising human 'species-being', that is, the universality and freedom inherent in human nature, but only in the form of 'abstract' universality and freedom, and therefore inadequately. In 1844 he conceives capital in the same way, as an abstract and therefore inadequate realisation of human species-being. Accordingly the transition from capital to communism consists essentially in transforming the abstract universality and freedom realised in capital into a 'concrete' universality and freedom. The paper concludes by commenting on the implications of this early philosophical conception of capital for Marx's later writings.

History

Publication status

  • Published

Publisher

Palgrave Macmillan

Pages

288.0

Book title

Karl Marx and contemporary philosophy

Place of publication

Basingstoke

ISBN

9780230222373

Department affiliated with

  • Philosophy Publications

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Editors

Andrew Chitty, Martin McIvor

Legacy Posted Date

2012-11-01

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