The Communist Manifesto
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Edited and with an Introduction by Jeffrey C. Isaac; with essays by Steven Lukes, Stephen Eric Bronner, Vladimir Tismaneanu, Saskia Sassen
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Marx and Engels's Communist Manifesto has become one of the world’s most influential political tracts since its original 1848 publication. Part of the Rethinking the Western Tradition series, this edition of the Manifesto features an extensive introduction by Jeffrey C. Isaac, and essays by Vladimir Tismaneanu, Steven Lukes, Saskia Sassen, and Stephen Eric Bronner, each well known for their writing on questions central to the Manifesto and the history of Marxism. These essays address the Manifesto's historical background, its impact on the development of twentieth-century Communism, its strengths and weaknesses as a form of ethical critique, and its relevance in the post-1989, post-Cold War world. This edition also includes much ancillary material, including the many Prefaces published in the lifetimes of Marx and Engels, and Engels's "Principles of Communism."
Jeffrey Isaac is James H. Rudy Professor of Political Science and Director of the Center for the Study of Democracy and Public Life at Indiana University, and Editor in Chief of the journal Perspectives on Politics. He lives in Bloomington, IN.
"Isaac’s brilliant introduction and the insightful interpretations by contemporary political thinkers make a convincing case for the continued relevance of the Manifesto for our age of globalization. Two thumbs up!"—Manfred B. Steger, author of The Rise of the Global Imaginary
"The most brilliant and influential political pamphlet ever published, The Communist Manifesto is also a crucial link between the Western tradition and global social and political thought. The essays here illuminate it superbly."—Craig Calhoun, Director, London School of Economics, and author of The Roots of Radicalism
"By reminding us of the Manifesto's democratic urgency, Jeffrey Isaac rips Marx and Engels's masterpiece out of its scholarly retirement and restores it to its rightful place at the centre of our political understanding."—Marc Stears, author of Demanding Democracy: American Radicals in Search of a New Politics
“A first-rate new edition of the Communist Manifesto, perfect for the Rethinking the Western Tradition series and for these times. Isaac’s superb opening essay belongs in the pantheon of great introductions to classic works of political theory, and the other contributions, which are excellent, have been thoughtfully commissioned to demonstrate the continuing vitality of the text.”—Elisabeth Ellis, author of Provisional Politics: Kantian Arguments in Policy Context
"A valuable edition. Its incorporation of four high-caliber interpretational essays alongside all of Marx and Engels's various prefaces to the Communist Manifesto should raise the level of scholarly debate." —Paul Thomas, author of Karl Marx and the Anarchists
"The Communist Manifesto remains one of the most influential political texts ever written—but also, one of the most controversial. Just when it seemed safe to consign Marx’s ideas to the historical dustbin, globalization’s savage inequalities arose to render his insights more relevant than ever. The pathbreaking essays assembled by Jeffrey Isaac in the present volume do justice to both sides of the equation, portraying Marxism’s cogency as well as its undeniable political hazards."—Richard Wolin, author of The Wind from the East: French Intellectuals, the Cultural Revolution, and the Legacy of the 1960s
"The Manifesto is part of modernity’s literary canon, but the nuanced brilliance and diverse elaborations of this volume’s commentaries make
this collection critical reading for those who engage our alternative futures."—Michael D. Kennedy, author of Cultural Formations of Postcommunism: Emancipation, Transition, Nation and War
Publication Date: June 26, 2012
