Marx's Notes on Ancient Society History

Author: Central Committee of the Communist Party of China Marx
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-04-01
Features: This library collects important works of the classical writers of Marxism-Leninism and publishes them in separate volumes. Works that can stand alone as books are published as individual books, while some important articles and letters are compiled into thematic collections. Some works also include appendices, compiling the author's own relevant writings and materials directly related to the book. To assist readers in learning and research, each book includes "Notes" and "Index of Names" after the main text, and some works also include "Index of Subjects." The translations and materials are based on the new complete collections and selected works. For works that do not yet have a new edition, the translations are revised according to the requirements of the new edition, and materials are compiled. This library, in conjunction with the complete collections and selected works, can meet the diverse needs of a broad readership. Theoreticians, educators, publicity workers, cadres at all levels, university and college students, and other readers can select the works they need from this library or systematically collect them. This book includes five reading notes written by Marx between 1879 and 1882. Since the mid-1970s, Marx had been intensively studying the social formations before capitalism and had made extensive reading notes. These five notes are part of that work. According to Marxist theory, the social formations of ancient peoples were determined by two spontaneously arising social relationships: kinship ties and communal ownership of the means of production. Before the establishment of capitalist society, these two relationships or their variants existed to varying degrees in all societies, especially in those with slower development, leaving their marks to varying extents in all aspects of social life. The basic themes of the five notes in this book are a historical examination of these ancient social relationships. Marx's meticulous excerpts and annotations from the works he read, as well as his many comments and remarks, not only show how he worked to explore new research fields in his later years but also reflect new developments in his theory.