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breadandmushrooms's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.5
tombomp's review against another edition
3.0
Informative but short and not really suitable as the introduction it sells itself as. Refers to criticisms and perspectives as though the reader knows them without introduction or anything and the topics it does introduce are sometimes really hurried. As an obvious consequence of its length, it doesn't cover a huge amount of stuff. Not *bad*, but disappointing in that respect.
Minor problems are the constant use of brackets and whole page information boxes that break up the flow of the text. Not a big deal, but makes reading it tougher.
Minor problems are the constant use of brackets and whole page information boxes that break up the flow of the text. Not a big deal, but makes reading it tougher.
megapolisomancy's review against another edition
3.0
An impressively lucid (if rather lofty) examination of Marx and philosophy-or Philosophy with a capital "P" more accurately. Balibar is more concerned here with situating Marx and his (anti- or non-) philosophy within the canon of Philosophy than he is with critical theory or even structures of capitalism.
NOT, as I keep seeing it referred to as, a useful first introduction to Marx or Marxism; more a way to restructure an existing understanding from a different conceptual direction.
NOT, as I keep seeing it referred to as, a useful first introduction to Marx or Marxism; more a way to restructure an existing understanding from a different conceptual direction.
alexlanz's review against another edition
Lots of tidbits about mysticism and eschatology. They're not in the mainstream of the argument but they'll keep me ponderin'.
boithorn's review
3.0
Billed as an accessible introduction to the philosophy of Marx (Balibar was approached to write this volume in the 90s as a means of getting students to engage with Marx's writings instead of "Marxist" theory), this was a hell of a mixed bag.
On the one hand, there are a few specific philosophical concepts from Marx that get detailed explanations (fetishism, progression of history, etc.) that are actually helpful. Additionally, Balibar doing a close reading of Marx means that he is constantly situating writings in their historical and philosophical context, which gives readers a clearer understanding of the purpose of different pieces.
However, this book is not an introduction by any stretch of the imagination. You don't get much, if any, introduction to the economic and historical theories that make Marx most compelling to read. Balibar goes into the weeds of the philosophical discussions in such a way that is way more difficult than actually reading Marx himself.
I found this to be a helpful refresher of the language Marx uses, but I couldn't recommend this to someone as the first thing they read to get them acquainted to Marx and his philosophies.
On the one hand, there are a few specific philosophical concepts from Marx that get detailed explanations (fetishism, progression of history, etc.) that are actually helpful. Additionally, Balibar doing a close reading of Marx means that he is constantly situating writings in their historical and philosophical context, which gives readers a clearer understanding of the purpose of different pieces.
However, this book is not an introduction by any stretch of the imagination. You don't get much, if any, introduction to the economic and historical theories that make Marx most compelling to read. Balibar goes into the weeds of the philosophical discussions in such a way that is way more difficult than actually reading Marx himself.
I found this to be a helpful refresher of the language Marx uses, but I couldn't recommend this to someone as the first thing they read to get them acquainted to Marx and his philosophies.
martinhm's review
2.0
As the title suggests, this book is more about the philosophy of Marx than his politics, whatever that may mean. The author seems to explain the contrast between Marx's own writings and Marxist writings. It was honestly a tedious book. I started reading it in summer and even now I didn't bother reading the Afterword or Appendix because of how long, dry and complicated they are.
At times Balibar can be insightful and authoritative, and his writing is clear. But this book is for people comfortable in philosophy and philosophical terms, familiar with the Frankfurt School and already read Marx and even Hegel. I'm not those people so I definitely struggled to follow many parts of the book.
I really don't know what to rate this book, because it isn't necessarily bad or difficult, just tedious and at times dry/boring.
At times Balibar can be insightful and authoritative, and his writing is clear. But this book is for people comfortable in philosophy and philosophical terms, familiar with the Frankfurt School and already read Marx and even Hegel. I'm not those people so I definitely struggled to follow many parts of the book.
I really don't know what to rate this book, because it isn't necessarily bad or difficult, just tedious and at times dry/boring.
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