The Theory of Need in Marx (Radical Thinkers) - Softcover

"The crucible of Heller's theory of needs is a conception of total revolution which signifies not just the overturning of political regimes or relations of production but the transformation of everyday life." --John Grumley, University of Sydney "One of the most innovative philosophical minds of the last half century." --Richard Wolin, CUNY Graduate Center "Agnes Heller is peerless as a philosopher of the modern condition." --Katie Terezakis, Rochester Institute of Technology "Sinuously argued and dense with quotations from both the early and later Marx ... a pivotal moment in the whole development of her philosophy." --Max L. Feldman, Public Seminar

The basic discoveries underlying Marx's critique of political economy - labour power, surplus value, use value - are all in some way built upon the concept of need. From Marx's varying and passing interpretations of a theory of need, Agnes Heller unravels the main tendencies and demonstrates the importance which Marx attached to the "restructuring" of a system of needs going beyond the purely material. She also brings out those aspects, especially the idea of "radical needs" which point to revolutionary activity and to the project which Marx could only foresee but which for us today is of real urgency: the "society of associated producers". Thus Agnes Heller's study is not only the first full presentation of a fundamental aspect of Marx, but the basis for a discussion of the utmost contemporary relevance.