Abstract
While any attempt to divide Marx’s discourse into developmental stages is bound to encounter difficulties, a threefold scheme probably constitutes the most adequate periodisation of his changing views on the division of labour: (1) the early writings, from the 1844 Manuscripts to The German Ideology — at this stage Marx has a vision of total emancipation and completely assimilates ‘division of labour’ to ‘class’; (2) a transitional stage, chiefly represented by The Poverty of Philosophy (1847), in which Marx separates ‘social division of labour’ from the division of labour in manufacture — this period also contains some important political writings which register an attempt to detach the analysis of the state from a reduction to ‘division of labour’ tout court; (3) the mature writings, beginning with the Grundrisse (1856–7), in which Marx develops the theory of surplus value and begins to separate ‘class’ from the ‘division of labour’ in his analysis. I shall examine each period in turn.
Chapter PDF
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 1982 Ali Rattansi
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Rattansi, A. (1982). A Periodisation of Marx’s Views on the Division of Labour. In: Marx and the Division of Labour. Contemporary Social Theory. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-16829-3_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-16829-3_10
Publisher Name: Palgrave, London
Print ISBN: 978-0-333-28556-5
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-16829-3
eBook Packages: Palgrave Political & Intern. Studies CollectionPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)