Rhetoric, affect, and "a whole lot of French novels" : a Marxian response

This essay offers a response to the special issue of Cultural Critique on the theme of "Communication, Biopolitics, and Social Reproduction." Drawing on the record of Marx's personal library compiled by Roland Daniels in 1849, it begins by arguing that, given his expansive intellectual and cultural interests, Marx would have had little trouble recognizing himself in all of the papers collected together here. The essay goes on to argue that his work can be understood not only as a historical phenomenon but also as a contribution to contemporary discussions of rhetoric, affect, biopower, and the so-called new materialism. It concludes with a brief consideration of what a Marxian history of rhetoric might entail.