In the 1840s, the young German journalist Karl Marx developed ideas about modern society that remain as relevant today as when they were first developed. Here, Lowy shows the lasting force of Marx’s early writings on alienation and emancipation. “It is basically an attempt at a Marxist interpretation of Marx, that is, a study of his philosophical and political evolution in the historical context of social struggles in Europe during the decisive years of 1840-48, and in particular of his relationship with the experiences of the emerging working class and the early socialist labor movement.”