Marx and Ethics (Clarendon Paperbacks)

This book traces the development of Marx's ethics as they underwent various shifts and changes during different periods of his thought. In his early writings, his ethics are based on a concept of essence much like Aristotle's which Marx tries to link to a principle of universalization similar to Kant's `categorical imperative'. In the period 1845-6 Marx abandoned this view, holding morality to be incompatible with his historical materialism. In the later writings Marx is less of a determinist, and he no longer wants to reject morality. However he does want to transcend a morality of burdensome obligation and constraint so as to realize a community built upon spontaneous bonds of solidarity.