Journalist Marx: empirical elements at the service of critique of political economy

Abstract

This article seeks to highlight the importance of the journalistic activities developed by Marx between the years 1848 and 1857 for the process of elaborating his critique of political economy. Without abandoning
his theoretical work, the journalism and his involvement with the apprehension of the practical aspects of social reality made possible to Marx the refi nement of two essential aspects for the elaboration of his critique: the form and content of the categories of political economy. Therefore, in addition to theoretical developments of that period contained both in London Notebooks, as in epistolary Marx-Engels, the empirical elements appear as a fundamental moment in Marx’s theoretical-methodological trajectory, which
would culminate in the elaboration of the Grundrisse in the years 1857-1858.

Keywords: journalism, empirical elements, critique of political economy, dialectical method.