The Karl Marx Library is a topically-organized series of original translations and biographical commentaries edited by historian and

Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

scholar Saul K. Padover (1905–1981) and published by academic publisher

McGraw-Hill Books McGraw Hill is an American education science company that provides educational content, software, and services for students and educators across various levels—from K-12 to higher education and professional settings. They produce textbooks, ...

. Originally projected as a 13-volume series at the time of its launch in 1971, ultimately only 7 volumes found print prior to Padover's death, supplemented by a biography and an unnumbered volume of selected correspondence. The scholarly utility of the series was severely undermined by the 1975 launch of the 50-volume '' Marx-Engels Collected Works'' project jointly published by

Progress Publishers Progress Publishers was a Moscow-based Soviet Union, Soviet publisher founded in 1931. Publishing program Progress Publishers published books in a variety of languages: Russian, English, and many other European and Asian languages. They issued ma ...

of Moscow,

International Publishers International Publishers is a book publishing company based in New York City, specializing in Marxism, Marxist works of economics, political science, and history. Company history Establishment International Publishers Company, Inc., was founde ...

of New York City, and

Lawrence and Wishart Lawrence & Wishart is a British publishing company formerly associated with the Communist Party of Great Britain. It was formed in 1936 through the merger of Martin Lawrence, the Communist Party's press, and Wishart Ltd, a family-owned left-wing ...

of London. The abruptly-terminated series proved to be a short-lived focal point for Marx scholarship during the first half of the decade of the 1970s. The formal Karl Marx Library series was terminated in 1977, with two tangential volumes by Padover subsequently published during the last years of his life, including a full-length biography of Marx.

Publication history

Launch

An ambitious scholarly project entitled "The Karl Marx Library" was launched in 1971 by historian and

scholar Saul K. Padover.Z.A. Jordan, "Reviewed Work: ''Karl Marx On Revolution'' by Saul K. Padover", ''American Political Science Review,'' vol. 68, no. 4 (Dec. 1974), pp. 1743-1744
In JSTOR
A total of 13 volumes were projected for the series, each to contain new translations of full or extracted writings by Marx dealing with a specific topical themes. The academic utility of the series was questioned even at the time of its initial launch, with journal reviewer Z.A. Jordan of

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public university, public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to se ...

making note of a recent announcement that Communist Party publishers

(UK) and

(US) were to begin complete translation and publication of the massive '' Marx-Engels-Gesamtausgabe'' (MEGA) produced by Karl Dietz Verlag Berlin starting in 1958. "This development is bound to reduce the usefulness of Dr. Padover's series on which he must have expended much energy and time-consuming effort", Jordan presciently predicted.

''On Revolution'' (1971)

The first volume of the series, ''On Revolution'' (1971), broke little original ground for Marx scholars, containing only a spate of articles from the 1850s from

Horace Greeley Horace Greeley (February 3, 1811 – November 29, 1872) was an American newspaper editor and publisher who was the founder and newspaper editor, editor of the ''New-York Tribune''. Long active in politics, he served briefly as a congres ...

's ''

New York Tribune The ''New-York Tribune'' (from 1914: ''New York Tribune'') was an American newspaper founded in 1841 by editor Horace Greeley. It bore the moniker ''New-York Daily Tribune'' from 1842 to 1866 before returning to its original name. From the 1840s ...

'' on the contemporary situation in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

that were not already readily available in other publications. Padover's failure to maintain a chronological presentation of documents was criticized by one reviewer, who observed that Marx's own views on the nature and time span of the revolutionary process evolved considerably during the second half of the 1800s. Padover's lengthy introduction to the first volume, "Karl Marx as Revolutionist", was likewise criticized as biographical rather than introductory to the material presented and the book's bibliography was panned as "highly selective, if not parochial" for its lack of works published outside the United States. Another academic reviewer was no less harsh, declaring that "unfortunately, the best that can be said about the volume's scholarly apparatus is that it is all but swallowed up in the 600-odd pages of authentic, or nearly authentic, Marx texts."A. Thomas Ferguson, Jr. and Stephen J. O'Neil, "Marx's Writings on Revolution: ''Karl Marx: On Revolution'' by Saul K. Padover", ''The Review of Politics,'' vol. 35, no. 2 (April 1973), pp. 260-262
In JSTOR
Padover was lauded for judicious selection of documents and "capable" translation, with the inclusion of selected correspondence singled out as particularly illuminating. His own editorial contribution was deemed to be problematic, however, with Padover's bibliographic notes said to "contain more errors of commission and omission" than could be conveniently cited in short academic review. Padover's failure to print Marx's writings in concert with those of his friend and co-thinker

Frederick Engels Friedrich Engels ( ;"Engels"
''

The Communist Manifesto ''The Communist Manifesto'' (), originally the ''Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (), is a political pamphlet written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, commissioned by the Communist League and originally published in London in 1848. The ...

,'' and journalism related to specific revolutionary events in France, Germany, and Spain.

''On Freedom of the Press and Censorship'' (1974)

''On Freedom of the Press and Censorship'', the fourth of the scheduled 13 volumes of the Karl Marx Library, saw print in 1974. The book's importance was already diminished by the forthcoming appearance of initial volumes of the ''Marx-Engels Collected Works'' through a well-funded international effort spearheaded by three Communist Party-related publishing houses.Z. A. Jordan, ''"Karl Marx on Freedom of the Press and Censorship'' by Saul K. Padover", ''American Political Science Review,'' vol. 72, no. 1 (March 1978), pp. 227-229
In JSTOR
/ref> Padover was again taken to task by Z. A. Jordan in the pages of the ''

American Political Science Review The ''American Political Science Review'' (''APSR'') is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering all areas of political science. It is an official journal of the American Political Science Association and is published on their behalf ...

'', with Jordan particularly questioning the decision to treat Marx in binary terms as a "Revolutionist" and an "Embattled Journalist" — with the former writing dealing with the

Revolutions of 1848 The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...

split out into the volume ''On Revolution'' and other writing presented as the work of a "fighting journalist" engaged in a dedicated effort to win

freedom of the press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic Media (communication), media, especially publication, published materials, shoul ...

and abolition of censorship in Germany. Jordan considered such a division to be a "doubtful" assumption, noting that Marx's primary fight as a journalist by the time of his ''Neue Rheinische Zeitung'' editorship had been not for freedom of the press per se, but rather "to stem the rising tide of the counter-revolution, led by the King of Prussia and his ministers, who used censorship effectively, to restrict the activities of their political opponents and, finally, to silence the opposition altogether." As a result, Jordan argued, the ''On Freedom of the Press and Censorship'' collection unsatisfactory, particularly for its "disappointingly inadequate" selection of material from the ''Neue Rheinische Zeitung'' and failure to document the evolution of Marx's political thinking on censorship matters over time. Structurally speaking, ''On Freedom of the Press and Censorship'' was divided into four sections. The first dealt with the young Marx's writing for the ''

Rheinische Zeitung The ''Rheinische Zeitung'' (" Rhenish Newspaper") was a 19th-century German newspaper, edited most famously by Karl Marx. The paper was launched in January 1842 and terminated by Prussian state censorship in March 1843. The paper was eventually s ...

'', a second on writing for its successor publication the ''

Neue Rheinische Zeitung The ''Neue Rheinische Zeitung: Organ der Demokratie'' ("New Rhenish Newspaper: Organ of Democracy") was a German daily newspaper, published by Karl Marx in Cologne between 1 June 1848 and 19 May 1849. It is recognised by historians as one of the ...

'', a third with personal letters by Marx, with a final section containing official documents and correspondence dealing with Marx's alleged transgressions with the censorship as editor of the two

Rhenish The Rhineland ( ; ; ; ) is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. It is the main industrial heartland of Germany because of its many factories, and it has historic ties to the Holy Roman Empir ...

newspapers with which he was associated.

''On Religion'' (1974)

Padover's fifth topical volume of the Karl Marx Library, ''On Religion'', drew significant academic attention beyond the more typical scholarly province of intellectual history and the history of the labor movement. Writing in the ''

Catholic Historical Review ''The Catholic Historical Review'' (CHR) is the official organ of the American Catholic Historical Association. It was established at The Catholic University of America in 1915 by Thomas Joseph Shahan and Peter Guilday and is published quarterly b ...

,'' Joseph O'Malley of

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It was established as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, by John Henni, the first Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Ar ...

observed that "Marx's idea of religion, as shown in these excerpts, remained one and fixed throughout his adult life," and that religion to Marx "at best provides some individuals the diversion of an illusory solace and at worst acts in and on society as an anti-human force."Joseph O'Malley, ''"On Religion'' by Karl Marx; Saul K. Padover", ''Catholic Historical Review,'' vol. 63, no. 4 (Oct. 1977), pp. 593-594
In JSTOR
/ref> O'Malley further observed that "it appears that Marx never entertained the slightest doubt about the atheism he had adopted by the age of nineteen." Despite his intimations of the collection's merits, Padover was again taken to task by O'Malley for certain editorial errors, including attribution of the article "Luther as Arbiter Between Strauss and Feuerbach" to Marx rather than to

Ludwig Feuerbach Ludwig Andreas von Feuerbach (; ; 28 July 1804 – 13 September 1872) was a German anthropologist and philosopher, best known for his book '' The Essence of Christianity'', which provided a critique of Christianity that strongly influenced ge ...

, as new scholarship had revealed. Writing in the ''

Journal of Church and State The ''Journal of Church and State'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal of religious studies and political science,Walter A. Elwell''Evangelical Dictionary of Theology'' Baker Academic, 2001, p. 254 covering issues related to the First ...

'', Elmer H. Duncan welcomed Padover's effort as a "useful" collection of Marx's writing on religious topics, "gleaned from many, perhaps most, of his published works".Elmer H. Duncan, ''"Karl Marx on Religion''. "Karl Marx Library", vol. 5 by Saul K. Padover", ''Journal of Church and State'', vol. 19, no. 1 (Winter 1977), pp. 106-108
In JSTOR
/ref> Calling the book "invaluable" to readers interested in Marx's personal views on religion, Duncan found fault with the shortness of the book's constituent sections and the aspect of compilation of writings produced over a number of years into a single topical heading. Noting the rabbinically-descended Marx's "intense ''hatred'' of Jews and of the Jewish faith", Duncan coyly noted that some purple passages with

anti-Semitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

overtones "should guarantee that this book will be of interest to theologians, philosophers, political scientists, economists, and psychologists". The structure of the fifth volume included a 19-page introductory essay by Padover followed by division of the textual material into three parts, dealing with "Christianity and Religion in General", "Judaism and the Jews", and "Personal Letters". Material within each of these sections followed a chronological approach, marked by ample editorial annotation.

Series

Volumes published

* Vol. 1: ''On Revolution''. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1971. * Vol. II: ''On America and the Civil War''. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1972. * Vol. III: ''On the First International''. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1973. * Vol. IV: ''On Freedom of the Press and Censorship''. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1974. * Vol. V: ''On Religion''. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1974. * Vol. VI: ''On Education, Women and Children''. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1975. * Vol. VII: ''On History and People''. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1977.

Related volumes

* ''Karl Marx: An Intimate Biography''. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1978. * ''The Letters of Karl Marx''. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prrentice-Hall, 1979.

Unpublished projected volumes

* Vol. VIII: ''On Radical Leaders and Theorists''. * Vol. IX: ''On Britain, Ireland, and Colonialism''. * Vol. X: ''On International Affairs''. * Vol. XI: ''Capital (Excerpts, Prefaces, and Letters)''. * Vol. XII: ''Economic Writings''. * Vol. XIII: ''Personal and Family Letters''.

References

{{Authority control Books by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels 1973 non-fiction books 1974 non-fiction books 1975 non-fiction books 1977 non-fiction books 1978 non-fiction books 1979 non-fiction books Marxism Political books Translations into English Unfinished books Book series introduced in 1971