Making Sense of Marx

Making Sense of Marx is a 1985 book about Karl Marx by the social and political theorist Jon Elster, in which the author reevaluates Marx's ideas. The book has received a mixture of praise and criticism from commentators.

Making Sense of Marx

Cover
Author	Jon Elster
Language	English
Subject	Karl Marx
Publisher	Cambridge University Press
Publication date	1985
Publication place	United Kingdom
Media type	Print (Hardcover and Paperback)
Pages	556
ISBN	978-0521297059

Reception

Making Sense of Marx was praised as "sharp" and "hard-headed" by the political scientist David McLellan.^[1] The political philosopher Richard W. Miller called Elster's work "erudite".^[2]

Conversely, the Marxist economist Ernest Mandel gave the work a negative review,^[3] while the philosopher Jan Narveson wrote that the work was, "greeted with highly mixed feelings by those who had hoped the title meant that there was sense to be made" of Marx.^[4]

Bibliography

Books

• Mandel, Ernest (1989). Ware, Robert; Nielsen, Kai (eds.). Analyzing Marxism: New Essays on Analytical Marxism. Calgary: The University of Calgary Press. ISBN 0-919491-14-6.
• McLellan, David (1995). Karl Marx: A Biography. London: Papermac. ISBN 0-333-63947-2.
• Miller, Richard W. (1999). Carver, Terrell (ed.). The Cambridge Companion to Marx. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-36694-1.
• Narveson, Jan (2001). The Libertarian Idea. Orchard Park, New York: Broadview Press. ISBN 1-55111-421-6.