I. Marx's account of alienation points to a real motivation of human beings and a real source of human problems in most political communities, including our own. Dissatisfaction with work that stifles our ability to express our talents and capacities is a frequent theme in contemporary political and social thought.

A. Often this critique is presented not in Marxist terms, but in Aristotelian or romantic terms. Marx's account of the centrality of productive activity has parallels in Blake's account of how human energy is best expressed and in Aristotle's understanding of pleasure.

II. Marx's theory of social class, suitably amended to take into account the growth of new middle class or professional-managerial class, is frequently invoked to explain the ideas and political ideals of the members of different classes.

III. Much of Marx's theory of politics under capitalism remains plausible as at least a partial account of politics under capitalism. Capitalists do have a number of sources of political power not open to other classes. And the working class has been, and to some extent, remains a powerful and effective force acting on behalf of the interests of workers. Indeed we have seen that it has been much more powerful than Marx himself expected it could be.