In the 150 years since its publication, no other treatise has inspired such a dividing and violent debate, and after the recent collapse of several regimes which had initially embraced it, a retrospective interpretation of the essential ideas it advocates is presented in this comprehensive volume. This edition of Karl Marx's philosophy is the authorized English translation of 1888, edited and annotated by Friedrich Engels, and includes prefaces to the several editions published between 1872 and 1888.