The philosophy of punishment: A collection of papers

Acton, H. B.

Specialties

Macmillan; St. Martin's Press

Philosophy of Punishment

Politics & Social Sciences

Philosophy

MACMILLAN/LONDON

British thinkers have considered Marxism primarily as a body of economic and social doctrine. They have concentrated attention on the class struggle and the alleged decline of capitalism but Marxism is also in a wide sense of the word, a system of thought and conduct comprising views about the principle purposes of human life. This book discusses this philosophy – the metaphysics, ethics and intellectual tradition inaugurated by Marx and Engels and continued by Lenin and Stalin. It first discusses Dialectical materialism and secondly the social theories and ethics known as Scientific Socialism.

Illusion of the Epoch: Marxism-Leninism as a Philosophical Creed

Routledge Kegan Paul Ltd.

The Morals of Markets and Related Essays

Although the market economy is not as unpopular now as when Acton wrote The Morals of Markets, the morality of buying and selling has long bothered man's conscience. Defenses of capitalism often establish its efficiency or rely on a "that is the way human nature is anyway" argument. This book asserts that a free market is a necessary condition for the pursuit of moral excellence. Its analysis of the relation between capitalism and moral virtue has not been superseded. The demise of Marxism and the moral bankruptcy of socialism throughout the world do not end the debate over capitalism. Acton's book is distinctive in discussing the "morals of markets" in a way that forms an essential addition—often missing—to the case to be made for free markets. Harry Burrows Acton (1908–1974) was Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. David Gordon is a Senior Fellow at the Ludwig von Mises Institute. Jeremy Shearmur teaches political theory at the Australian National University.

Business & Money

Business Culture

Liberty Fund

Written nearly fifty years ago, at a time when the world was still wrestling with the concepts of Marx and Lenin, The Illusion of the Epoch is the perfect resource for understanding the roots of Marxism-Leninism and its implications for philosophy, modern political thought, economics, and history. As Professor Tim Fuller has written, this is not an intemperate book, but rather an effort at a sustained, scholarly argument against Marxian views.” Far from demonizing his subject, Acton scrupulously notes where Marx’s account of historical and economic events and processes is essentially accurate. However, Acton also points out that Marx is generally right about things that were already widely known and accepted in his own time and indeed had been long understood in the nineteenth century. On the other hand, Acton shows that in many cases Marx either is simply wrong or has stated his views so as to render his theories immune to disproof. Acton also explains why the embodiment of Marxist-Leninist theory in an actual social order would require coercive support if it were not, sooner or later, to collapse of its own contradictions. H.B. Acton (19081974) taught at Bedford College (London), the University of Edinburgh, and the University of Chicago; was editor of Philosophy, the influential journal of the British Royal Institute of Philosophy; and wrote, among other books, The Morals of Markets (1971; Liberty Fund, 1993) and The Philosophy of Language in Revolutionary France (1959). Click here for a pdf of a brochure featuring The Illusion of Epoch

The Illusion of the Epoch: Marxism-Leninism as a Philosophical Creed

Liberty Fund, Inc.

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Books by Acton, H. B.