Abstract
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>This chapter introduces the two main aims of the book: to develop a more social interpretation of Marx’s vision of the good society, and to show how this interpretation represents an appealing account of how we might live together. The crux of this interpretation is that people realize themselves by exercising and developing their essential human powers in providing others with the goods and services they need to flourish. The chapter also introduces the prevailing interpretation that it aims to supplant: the parallelist interpretation defended by Jon Elster and G. A. Cohen, in which self-realization does not involve satisfying the needs of others. Finally, it clarifies the methodology employed in the book and makes a provisional case for the appeal of Marx’s perfectionism.</jats:p>