A long and difficult book, albeit interesting and insightful.

Liedman is nothing if not erudite, and his meticulous coverage of Marx’s changing opinions on philosophy is interesting and important, although it makes for slow reading for anyone not well-versed in the subtleties of Hegelian logic! It usefully explains many of the key ideas and phrases of Marxism - such as the dictatorship of the proletariat, the transformation of quantity into quality, commodity fetishism, etc - and describes the evolution of these ideas over the course of Marx’s life (and beyond).

The greatest achievement of the book lies in its compelling demonstration of the continued relevance of Marx’s critique of capitalism. In a post-Soviet era where capitalist liberalism is supposed to have triumphed for once and for all, and where politicians routinely label Marxism as obscure and antiquated, Liedman is able to show that the contradictions of capitalism identified by Marx are as present as ever.

Another key point that Liedman emphasises is that Marx didn’t really set out to build ‘Marxism’; he delved into numerous areas of knowledge and developed several important theses, but he “never arrived at any summation of his work, much less any system.” The -ism was added to Marx by his followers after his death. This insight is helpful as a warning against dogma; as a reminder that Marx’s work was not ‘complete’ and that socialism is not a closed book but a living body of knowledge in need of constant development. However, Liedman’s objections to ‘system-building’ come across as being rooted in a rather stuffy academic perspective that has limited interest in the practical, real-world application of Marx’s analysis. The dismissive approach to 'existing socialism' feels a little, well, un-Marxist.

Defects notwithstanding, Liedman’s book is a thorough, well-researched and valuable contribution.