The Making of Marx’s Critical Theory: A Bibliographical Analysis, by Allen Oakley (Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1983), £4.95 paperback.
This book is precisely what its author subtitles it – “a bibliographical analysis”. It covers in a detailed fashion the development of Marx’s writing – philosophical, political and economic. While not pretending to be a biography of Marx, the book necessarily gives an insight into the life of Marx the theorist and author, and shows the importance of Engels to the development of his work.
Oakley explains how each work of Marx was commissioned and executed, and guides the reader through the complex relationship between the various precursors of Marx’s major work – Capital. Each chapter is rounded off with a diagrammatic chronology of published and unpublished manuscripts, which in themselves are useful reference points in the study of Marx’s writings.
While much of the finer detail will be of more interest to academic “Marxologists” than to revolutionaries, the book as a whole is a highly useful contribution to the study of Marx’s work.
