| Abstract: | Donald N. Levine's treatment of Karl Marx in his Visions of the Sociological Tradition (1995) is an exemplary one by a non-Marxist scholar. In a careful reading, Levine places Marx inside the German idealist tradition. However, he overstates Marx's affinity to Ludwig Feuerbach and understates his continuing debt to G. W. F. Hegel. Levine also points to Marx's internationalism and cosmopolitanism, drawing on both biographical and theoretical material. In addition, he argues that Marx failed to grasp the importance of nationalism and ethnicity. Here, Levine has not considered sufficiently Marx's illuminating and substantial writings on nationalism, race, and ethnicity, particularly those on Poland, Ireland, and the United States. Nonetheless, some problematic features of Marx's writings on Jews and Judaism bear out part of Levine's critique. |
