Marx's economic theories are not a scientific account of the nature and extent of exploitation under capitalism. They nevertheless offer a vivid picture of an uncontrolled society in which the productive workers unconsciously create the instruments of their own oppression. It is a picture of human alienation, writ large as the dominance of past labour, or capital, over living labour. The value of the picture lies in its capacity to lead us to see its subject in a radically new way. It is a work of art, of philosophical reflection and of social polemic, all in one, and it has the merits and the defects of all three of these forms of writing. It is a painting of capitalism, not a photograph.

This brief account of Marx's life and thought is surprisingly comprehensive give its size. Singer's prose is as lucid and articulate as ever. His assessment of Marx is insightful and fair. I can highly recommend this short work as a good point of entry for anyone interested in the broad strokes of Marx, but reluctant to take the deep dive into something longer. Fans of Singer would likely find his reading of Marx interesting in its own right as well. ( )

A brilliant little book, covering Marx's main ideas in a concise, extremely clear and coherent manner, while also avoiding dumbing down or oversimplification. Recommended.

Gareth Southwell is a philosopher, writer and illustrator.

A very short, but very good review of Marx. ( )

Peter Singer discusses Marx as a political philosopher on par with Locke, Hobbes and Rousseau which cuts straight to utility of Marx and Marxism in our times. After tracing the life of Marx and the development of his ideas, he wraps up the text with a contrast against liberalism. In that contrast which I feel does the best job of encapsulating Marx's idea Singer centers the how freedom is understood and from there works backward to the economic system.

I come away from this text with a great deal of admiration of Marx as a thinker. Not just for his insights but because I relate so much to the process with staring with an idea (Hegelian Philosophy) and arriving at something significant. That process of discovery is the joy of learning in my opinion. ( )

The author of this introduction focuses mainly on the philosophical side of karl marx and his important contribution to the idea of freedom and his enduring criticism of the capitalist society.what Marx gave us is a much richer idea of freedom than the superficial liberal view of it.This introduction will show the readers the beauty of many of Marx's writings.
But the author is wrong in dismissing Marx's contribution to economics too easily.In fact many of Marx's predictions have actually turned out to be correct. ( )