Marx, Morality and the Virtue of Beneficence

The purpose of this book is to contribute to the contemporary debate among Western philosophers concerning two questions. Did Marx hold a particular moral theory as an objective basis for condemning capitalism? And, if so, then what was the theoretical basis for his moral critique of capitalism? Marx, Morality and the Virtue of Beneficence answers the first question in the affirmative. The answer to the second question comes by way of a presentation and defense of a moral theory constructed from Marx's writings. This theory or framework has three interrelated facets: a normative view of human nature, the virtue of beneficence, and the communist principle of distributive justice.