Montesquieu, Rousseau, Marx: Politics and History (Verso Edition)

In the first two essays in this book, Louis Althusser analyses the work of two of the greatest thinkers of the Enlightenment, whose thought is still the focus of contemporary controversy - Montesquieu and Rousseau. He shows that they made considerable advances towards establishing a science of politics, particularly in comparison with the theorists of natural law, although they remained the victims of the ideologies of their day and class. The third essay examines Marx's relationship to Hegel and elaborates on the discussions of this theme in Althusser's earlier books, "For Marx" and "Reading Capital."