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A review by boithorn
The Philosophy of Marx by Étienne Balibar
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.