Introduction

There is some excuse for the tendency to play down Engels's Outlines of a Critique of Political Economy (1844) as a contribution to Marxian economic theory. Its polemical tone, particularly its sharp condemnation of the classical literature with regard to the private-property axiom with which I commence this chapter, encourages this tendency. Nevertheless, the Outlines in fact provides a sophisticated evaluation of classical value theory and emerges as the founding document in the Marxian theoretical tradition, especially its macroeconomic dimension.

Rather than merely a descriptive account of working and living conditions, The Condition of the Working Class in England (1845) is then shown to provide significant elaborations of the main theoretical themes of the Outlines. Furthermore, the wholly bleak perception of contemporary working-class conditions usually attributed to Engels proves to be an exaggeration of his actual position, although it is valid concerning his evaluation of future prospects.

Again largely from the theoretical perspective, I next emphasize the status of the Principles of Communism (1847) – much of it drawn from the two earlier documents – as a template for the Communist Manifesto (1848). Finally, I briefly consider Engels's sources in composing the Outlines and The Condition of the Working Class.

Outlines of a Critique of Political Economy I: On the Classical Literature

According to Engels's account, the eighteenth century saw revolutionary developments in economics, namely the rejection of mercantilism – but with one major restriction: “It did not occur to economics to question the validity of private property” (MECW 3: 419).