"the Poverty Of Philosophy" And "poverty Of Philosophy"

The Poverty of Philosophy, containing historical materialism and "the decisive viewpoint" of Marxist economic theory, is the first published Marxist classics. Therefore, a thorough study of this book from the perspective of development of Marx' philosophy and with regard to the understanding of Proudhon's The Philosophy of Poverty is of great theoretical significance.Three essentials are fully discussed in the dissertation.Firstly, the theoretical relationship between Marx and Proudhon before mid-1840 is investigated from the perspective of thought history. In 1840, What is Property made Proudhon the most outstanding French socialist. From 1842 to 1846, Marx' appraisal of Proudhon changed from approving to criticizing. After a detailed study of the process of change, the author comes to the conclusion that from What is Property to The Philosophy of Poverty, the negative aspect of Proudhon's thought increased; and that Marx' historical materialism underwent a process from immature to mature during the same period.Secondly, the dissertation makes an analysis of The Philosophy of Poverty. The Philosophy of Poverty, as its name shows, is not solely an economic book, but a philosophic book as well. Proudhon tended to provide a philosophic base for his economic theory so as to found a "new social science". His attempt failed because of historical idealism inherited from Hegel and the unsuccessful transformation of Hegel's dialectics. Proudhon also presented a "new" kind of value theory, which takes time of labor as evaluation of price. He believed that the evil of bourgeois society could be eliminated if his theory of value was complied with. Such an idea is nothing but a Utopia explanation of Ricardo's theory. Consequently, his program of social transformation was only an idle dream.Thirdly, the dissertation makes a thorough study of The Poverty of Philosophy from the perspective of the perspective of development of Marx' philosophy and with regard to the understanding of The Philosophy of Poverty. Four important achievements are discussed: the transformation of Hegel's idealism dialectics; the first published historical materialism; the beginning of Marxist economic theory; and the formation of scientific socialism. At the end of the dissertation, a tentative comparison is made between Marx and Proudhon's theories, and the significance of The Poverty of Philosophy is revealed.