This comprehensive collection of classical sociological theory is a definitive guide to the roots of sociology from its undisciplined beginnings to its current influence on contemporary sociological debate. Explores influential works of Marx, Durkheim, Weber, Mead, Simmel, Freud, Du Bois, Adorno, Marcuse, Parsons, and Merton Editorial introductions lend historical and intellectual perspective to the substantial readings Includes a new section with new readings on the immediate "pre-history" of sociological theory, including the Enlightenment and de Tocqueville Individual reading selections are updated throughout

Marx's approach to analyzing society and especially his critique of capitalist society, continues to influence the work of a large number of scholars world-wide. Unfortunately, there are relatively few clear accounts of what this approach is and how to put it to use. And, despite the many attempts to use Marx's method to study a variety of subjects, there are relatively few that can serve as useful models. In the present volume, the internationally renowned Marxist scholar, Bertell Ollman, and the social theorist Kevin B. Anderson, have brought together a sampling of the best writings of the past hundred years that illustrate and critique Marx's method as well as explain what it is and how to put it to work. Anyone wishing to understand better Marx's dialectical method (along, of course, with the theories created with its help), or to revise this method or to criticize it, or to use it in their own work will find this collection invaluable.

This volume contains an English translation of Karl Marx's influential essay.

Wage-Labor and Capital by Karl Marx: Karl Marx's "Wage-Labor and Capital" offers a profound analysis of economic systems and the relationship between labor and capital. Delve into Marx's exploration of class struggles, labor exploitation, and the dynamics of capitalism. This seminal work continues to shape economic and political discourse.

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Moishe Postone undertakes a fundamental reinterpretation of Karl Marx's mature critical theory. He calls into question many of the presuppositions of traditional Marxist analyses and offers new interpretations of Marx's central arguments. He does so by developing concepts aimed at grasping the essential character and historical development of modern society, and also at overcoming the familiar dichotomies of structure and action, meaning and material life. These concepts lead him to an original analysis of the nature and problems of capitalism and provide the basis for a critique of 'actually existing socialism'. According to this new interpretation, Marx identifies the core of the capitalist system with an impersonal form of social domination generated by labor and the industrial production process are characterized as expressions of domination generated by labor itself and not simply with market mechanisms and private property. Proletarian labor and the industrial production process are characterized as expressions of domination rather than as means of human emancipation. This reinterpretation entails the form of economic growth and the structure of social labor in modern society to the alienation and domination at the heart of capitalism. This reformulation, Postone argues, provides the foundation for a critical social theory that is more adequate to late twentieth-century capitalism.

Karl Marx's ideas have been declared "dead" on more than one occasion, only to emerge with new relevance a few years later. But the "collapse of communism" seemed to be the final nail in his coffin. The end of history had been reached, we were told, and poor old Karl was wrong. -- Or was he? In Marx's Labor Theory of Value: A Defense, Hayashi Hiroyoshi argues that Marx will continue to be relevant as long as capitalism continues to exist. This is simply because no one grasped the nature of capitalism on a more profound level than Marx did. Hayashi presents the most fundamental aspects of Marxist economic thought, centering on the discussion of the commodity at the beginning of Capital. Also included are detailed examinations of Adam Smith's theory of value and the concepts of ground-rent, credit, and productive labor. Hayashi shows that Marx's labor theory of value is the key not only to understanding capitalism but also for grasping the essential characteristics of socialism. And socialism--as the real solution to the contradictions of capitalism--turns out to have little in common with the recently deceased "communist" states. Now that history has resumed--after its brief "hiatus"--it's time to return to Marx!