The concept of power

Thursday's Reading

On Thursday, we'll discuss the general approach to socio-economic life of Karl Marx, with particular attention to the way he theorizes power. There is a brief reading from the Power book edited by Lukes, but we'll be going to the original source as well.

It's very short and probably very confusing, but do try to read The Preface to A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy, which serves as a dense but important summary of a number of important Marxist ideas. The link is here.

I'd like you to read The Communist Manifesto. This is a longer reading, and it's a bit unique in that it was written for a wide audience of factory workers, as political propaganda. This doesn't prevent it from providing valuable insights into Marx's theory of power as well. It's only important for this class to read chapters one and two (chapters three and four concern political details of limited relevance to us).

Here is a link to chapter 1
chapter 2
In a few days, I'll provide some discussion questions and a reading guide for these readings.

posted by David Watkins @ 3:10 PM