A Promethean Vision outlines the main intellectual stages in the development of Karl Marx’s theory of historical development, often referred to as historical materialism or the materialist conception of history. The book charts Marx’s journey from his early life as a Young Hegelian immersed in German philosophical tradition through his turn toward political economy. In Eric Rahim’s interpretation his worldview developed as a synthesis of his philosophical thinking (critique of Hegel and Feuerbach) with classical political economy of Adam Smith. The central point is that Marx’s worldview should be seen as a method for analysing historical development and not as a ‘historical-philosophical theory’ with a deterministic approach to the understanding of historical development.

‘As an account of how Marx came to develop his materialist conception of history I cannot think of a better one [book].’

Professor David McLellan – Goldsmith’s College, University of London; Author of Karl Marx: His Life and Thought

‘This is a remarkably clear exposition of Marx’s vision of human development. Eric Rahim demonstrates that Marx’s materialist understanding of human development bears no relation to the crude deterministic caricatures offered by some of his critics. For Marx, Rahim argues, what each generation inherits from its predecessor contains the potential for further development. Realisation of this potential requires that human beings understand both the possibilities and constraints of their particular conjuncture and act on them. This is not straightforward. Advance is possible but it is not automatic or pre-determined.’

Dr. Renee Prendergast – Queen’s University of Belfast; Co-editor of Contributions to the History of Economic Thought

‘It is no accident that after the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, Marx’s Capital and Keynes’s General Theory returned to the bestseller list. Eric Rahim’s new volume, A Promethean Vision: The Formation of Marx’s Worldview, is an indispensable complement to a reading or re-reading of Capital. Rahim’s volume is an exemplary work of analysis and scholarship. It tells the reader where and what Marx was doing up to the writing of Capital. It sets out the historical and political environment in which Marx found himself and explains most clearly what his ideas were at each moment of time and how they evolved. The narrative is backed by detailed evidence and accounts of the interactions of Marx with his contemporaries and of their inter-related influence on one another. A striking feature of the volume is Rahim’s great ability to set out the essence of Marx’s ideas and breakthroughs.’
Professor GC Harcourt – University of New South Wales; Author of Some Cambridge Controversies in the Theory of Capital