Modren theories of exploitation / edited by Andrew Reeve

This critical examination of the idea of exploitation as a category in social theory redefines the notion for use in contemporary analysis.

The essays in this volume are concerned with both the concept of exploitation and the place of that idea within wider social theory; they include both exegeses of theories advanced since the emergence of industrial society, and suggestions for a coherent account of exploitation in contemporary conditions.

The contributors reappraise the theories of writers in the Scottish Enlightenment, the 'Ricardian Socialists', Mutualists, and Marx. In addition, the concerns of these writers are carried forward by essays presenting both contemporary liberal theories, and theories which draw upon the notion that socialist or communism is ethically superior to capitalism because of the exploitation located within the latter.

The book therefore presents both a unique overview of the concept of exploitation and a contribution to a developing contemporary debate. It will be of interest to political theorists, sociologists, economists and some historians.