Marxist Ethics Within Western Political Theory

As widely applied as Marxist theory is today, there remain a host of key western thinkers whose texts are rarely scrutinized through a Marxist lens. In this philosophical analysis of Marx's never-before translated German notes on Machiavelli, Montesquieu, Rousseau, and Lewis Henry Morgan, Norman Fischer points to a strain of Marxist ethics that may only be understood in the context of the great works of Western political theory and philosophy-particularly those that emphasize the republican value of public spiritedness, the communitarian value of solidarity, and the liberal values of liberty and equality.

Review: In this original and provocative work, Norman Fischer unfolds 'the lost history of republican Marxism, ' arguing that not only is Marxism compatible with liberalism as democratic, Marxism demands respect for negative liberties it also advances liberalism. Fischer's pointed defense of 'liberal republican Marxism' sets Marxist Ethics Within Western Political Theory apart it is an eye-opener.' Patrick Murray, Creighton University, USA, author of Marx's Theory of Scientific Knowledge (1988) 'At a time of cultural and political fragmentation, the search for a political philosophy that is both critical and holds to universalist norms, has become elusive.

This book, however, provides us with an important corrective to these current academic trends. Fischer's philosophical excavation shows that Marx's ideas are linked to a deep tradition in western political philosophy that emphasized the common good and social justice, a tradition to which we, too, are heirs.' Michael J.

Thompson, William Paterson University, USA