Ferdinand Tönnies and Karl Marx: about the Beginning of Marxism Academic Study

Occupation: Prof., Department of theory and history of sociology
Affiliation: St. Petersburg State University
Address: Russian Federation, Saint-Petersburg

Journal name

Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya

Edition

Issue 8

Pages

114-123

Abstract

The 200th anniversary of Karl Marx’s birth actualized debates around his scientific heritage. With increased free access to scientific documents of Marxism founders, there was a shortage of conceptual approaches to their analysis. The article examines early interests of а German social philosopher and theoretical sociologist F. Toennies (1855-1936) for Marx’ “Capital”, as well as his attempts to establish personal contacts with F. Engels. Toennies offered the first conceptual academic study of Marx’ works setting Marx as scholar apart from Marx as politician. In his book “Karl Marx – His Life and Teachings” (1921), the questions about the study of Marx are set and resolved, Marx’s research program is reconstructed, evolution of ‘six monographs plan’ is discussed; Marx's labor theory of value and surplus value and its criticisms are analyzed from the standpoint of Toennies’s ‘trade’ theory of capitalism. Toennies analyzes critically adjacent teachings and matters raised in Marx’ “Capital”. He makes systematic and theoretical criticisms of the absence of the entrepreneurs’ contribution to creation of surplus value as formulated by Marx. Toennies answered the question about the difference between Marx and Engels in the styles of dialectical thinking there. The article defines the meaning of inferences and assessments of Marx by Toennies for contemporary of Marx studies.

Keywords

Marx, Engels, Toennies, Marx Studies, History of Social Thoughts

Acknowledgment

The article is prepared with the support of The Centre for German and European Studies, St. Petersburg State University — Bielefeld University, Grant 1/15/2019, and Ferdinand Tönnies Gesellschaft e.V., Kiel.

Received

09.08.2019

Publication date

12.08.2019

Number of characters

30580

Cite

GOST	Golovin N. Ferdinand Tönnies and Karl Marx: about the Beginning of Marxism Academic Study // Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya – 2019. – Issue 8 C. 114-123 [Electronic resource]. URL: http://ras.jes.su/socis/s013216250006175-5-1-en (circulation date: 23.03.2025). DOI: 10.31857/S013216250006175-5
MLA	Golovin, Nikolay A "Ferdinand Tönnies and Karl Marx: about the Beginning of Marxism Academic Study." Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya 8 (2019):114-123. DOI: 10.31857/S013216250006175-5
APA	Golovin N. (2019). Ferdinand Tönnies and Karl Marx: about the Beginning of Marxism Academic Study. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya (8), pp.114-123 DOI: 10.31857/S013216250006175-5

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