Jan Kandiyali is an associate professor in political theory at Durham University, UK. He is the author of the forthcoming book Flourishing Together: Karl Marx's Vision of the Good Society.
Part of Karl Marx’s project was a thoroughgoing critique of capitalism as a system of exploitative social relations. But he also thought seriously about the essential place of work in the good life.
Karl Marx’s ideal society is taken far less seriously than his critique of capitalism. But he did offer a rich account of what a better society would look like — one built around meaningful work, mutual care, and human flourishing.
Central to Karl Marx’s vision of the good society is the idea that people fully flourish only in meeting the needs of others.