My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This collection of essays was not my favorite of Marx writings, but there were engaging sections sprinkled here and there. It was also interesting to hear him make keen observations about religion, politics and economics in a young United States (early to mid 1800s).

In his essay “A Criticism of the Hegelian Philosophy of Right”, Marx gives what I thought was a great understanding of Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation:

"Luther vanquished servility based upon devotion, because he replaced it by servility based upon conviction. He shattered faith in authority, because he restored the authority of faith. He transformed parsons into laymen, because he transformed laymen into parsons. He liberated men from outward religiosity, because he made religiosity an inward affair of the heart. He emancipated the body from chains, because he laid chains upon the heart."