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

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


Golovin N.A.

Dr. Sci. (Sociol.), Prof., Department of theory and history of sociology, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia n.golovin@spbu.ru

ID of the Article: 7779


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


For citation:

Golovin N.A. Ferdinand Tönnies and Karl Marx: about the Beginning of Marxism Academic Study. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. 2019. No 8. P. 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. Tönnies (1855–1936) for Marx’ «Capital», as well as his attempts to establish personal contacts with F. Engels. Tönnies 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 Tönnies’s ‘trade’ theory of capitalism. Tönnies 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. Tönnies 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 Tönnies for contemporary of Marx studies.


Keywords
Marx; Engels; Tönnies; Marx studies; history of social thoughts

References

Carstens U. (2013) Ferdinand Tönnies: Friese und Weltbürger: eine Biografie. Braest-Bredstedt: Verlag Nordfriisk Institut. (In Germ.)

Chepurenko A.Yu. (2018) Marx at the University 3.0? Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. No. 5: 26–34. (In Russ.)

Engels F. (1961) Dialectics of Nature. In: Marx K., Engels F. Collected Works. 2nd ed. Vol. 20. Moscow: Gospolitizdat: 339–626. (In Russ.)

Engels F. (1962) From F. Engels to K. Marx, the 9th of April, 1858. In: Marx K., Engels F. Collected Works. 2nd ed. Vol. 29. Moscow: Gospolitizdat: 253–260. (In Russ.)

Engels F. (1966) From F. Engels to K. Kautsky, the 26–27th of Juny, 1894. In: Marx K., Engels F. Collected Works. 2nd ed. Vol. 39. Moscow: Politizdat: 219–220. (In Russ.)

Foreword. In: Marx K., Engels F. Collected Works. 2nd ed. Vol. 13. Moscow: Gospolitizdat: I–XXVI. (In Russ.)

Heinrich M. (2013) Marx’ Ökonomiekritik nach der MEGA. Eine Zwischenbilanz. In: Marx-Engels Jahrbuch 2012/13. Berlin: Akademie Verlag GmbH: 144–167. (In Germ.)

Keynes Jh.M. (2018) The Open Letter to President Roosevelt from John Maynard Keynes. In: Nureev R.N. (ed.) The Great Depression and the Great Reform. Moscow: Norma; INFRA-M: 196–220. (In Russ.)

Kovalevskiy M.M. (2005) My Life: Memories. Moscow: ROSSPEN. (In Russ.)

Marx K. (1959) A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy. Preface. In: Marx K., Engels F. Collected Works. 2nd ed. Vol. 13. Moscow: Gospolitizdat: 5–9. (In Russ.)

Marx K. (1960) Capital. Vol. 1. In: Marx K., Engels F. Collected Works. 2nd ed. Vol. 23. Moscow: Gospolitizdat. (In Russ.)

Marx K. (1961) Capital. Vol. 3. In: Marx K., Engels F. Collected Works. 2nd ed. Vol. 25 P. 1. Moscow: Gospolitizdat. (In Russ.)

Marx K. (1962) From Marx to Engels. The 2nd of April, 1858. In: Marx K., Engels F. Collected Works. 2nd ed. Vol. 29. Moscow: Gospolitizdat: 253–260. (In Russ.)

Marx K. (1963) From K. Marx to F. Engels. The 24th of August, 1867. In: Marx K., Engels F. Collected Works. 2nd ed. Vol. 31. Moscow: Politizdat: 277–278. (In Russ.)

Mayer G. (1934) Friedrich Engels: Eine Biographie: in 2 Bde. 2. verb. Aufl. Bd. 1. Friedrich Engels in seine Fruehzeit. Haag: M. Nijhoff. (In Germ.)

Mehring F. (1990) Karl Marx: His Life Story. Moscow: Gospolitizdat. (In Russ.)

Rudolph G. (1991) Ferdinand Tönnies und die Lehre von Karl Marx. Annäherung und Vorbehalt. In: Clausen L. et al. (eds) Hundert Jahre «Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft». Opladen: Leske + Budrich: 301–320. (In Germ.)

Schumpeter J. (2001) History of Economic Analysis: in 3 vols. Vol. 2. Saint-Petersburg: Ekonomiсheskaya shkola. (In Russ.)

Sorokin P. (1966) Sociological Theories of Today. New York: Harper and Row.

Tönnies F. (2002) Community and Society. Saint Petersburg: Vladimir Dal’ (In Russ.)

Tönnies F. (1908) Evolution of Social Matters. Saint Petersburg: Izd. «Vestnika znaniya». (In Russ.)

Tönnies F. (1924) Ferdinand Tönnies. Kiel. In: Schmidt (ed.) Die Philosophie der Gegenwart in Selbstdarstellungen. 2nd ed. Leipzig: Verlag von L. Meiner: 203–240. (In Germ.)

Tönnies F. (1921) Karl Marx. Leben und Lehre. Jena: Erich Lichtenberg Verlag. (In Germ.)

Tönnies F. (2000) Nationalgefuehl In: Mohr A. et al. (eds) Ferdinand Tönnies Gesamtausgabe. Vol. 9. Leitfaden einer Vorlesung ueber theoretische Nationaloekonomie. Englische Weltpolitik in englischer Beleuchtung. Schriften. Rezensionen. 1911–1915. Berlin; New York: de Greyter: 404–412. (In Germ.)

Vygodski V. et al. (eds) (1987) The Initial Version of «Capital» (Karl Marx’s Economic Manuscripts, 1857–1859). Moscow: Gospolitizdat. (In Russ.)

Weber M. (1989) Der Sozialismus In: Max Weber Gesamtausgabe. Vol. I/15. Zur Politik in Weltkrieg. Schriften und Reden 1914–1918. Tuebingen: Mohr, Siebeck: 599–633. (In Germ.)

Content No 8, 2019