The year 1984 was the tail-end of a period of intense interest in Marx on the part of youth in Australia and West Germany. In Australia this interest took the form of a reception of structural Althusserian Marxism, whereas in West Germany it manifested itself especially in reading and research groups around Marx's critique of political economy. As a young Australian research student in philosophy, the author joined these West German discussions in 1976. This book - a doctoral dissertation - is the result of an intensive, multi-year engagement with seminal writings of Marx and Hegel.