Marx before Marxism

Marx's conversion to communism is generally acknowledged to have been in 1844 with the publication of the Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts or Paris Manuscripts. Yet how did Marx become a communist? What were the personal and intellectual influences which led him through successive stages of idealism, liberal rationalism and his first critique of Hegel. In this remarkable book, David McLellan provides the first comprehensive account of Marx's early life and the evolution of the philosophy which was to revolutionise the political map of the world.
In the early chapters Professor McLellan assesses the influences of his family, his Jewish ancestry and the intellectual climate in Germany during those crucial early years. The remainder of the book describes and assesses the momentous transition through romanticism; Hegelianism; the critique of Hegel; the exile in Paris; and the period of intellectual and personal turmoil which produced the famous Manuscripts.
As a work of intellectual biography Marx before Marxism provides not only fascinating insights into the man, but an essential framework within which to understand Marx's thought as a whole.