Paths of freedom in the young Marx: From political emancipation to social emancipation

Abstract

In The Paths of Freedom in the Young Marx, Júlia Lemos Vieira focuses on the works and development of Marxian thought in his early years, presenting an alternative Marxist reading that does not resort to the well-known predicates “young” or “old” to classify the Marx's theoretical path. The author will propose a reading that focuses on restoring the search for human emancipation as a characteristic feature of Marx's entire theoretical production, from his youth to his later works – although her book focuses on the works of his youth. The emancipation that, according to Vieira, in the Marx of his republican period focuses on the political sphere, will soon be complemented by the need for emancipation, above all, social. It is about understanding how the advancement of Marxian theory accompanies the advancement of a certain understanding of social and political forces, as well as the limits of philosophy's contribution to the process of human emancipation. Thus, Marx's work is presented, from his doctoral thesis to his writings from 1845, as a cohesive set guided by the same understanding of philosophy and its objectives.