Marx, Civil Society, and the Political Economy of Power: A Comparative Analysis with Hegel and Gramsci Introduction Karl Marx’s claim that the “anatomy of civil society is to be sought in political economy”—most famously articulated in the Preface to A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy (1859)—marks a decisive epistemological rupture in the study … Continue reading What does Marx mean by locating the “anatomy” of civil society in political economy, and how does this claim redefine the study of politics? Contrast Marx’s understanding of civil society with that of Hegel and Gramsci.