From the Introduction: The present essay provides an introduction to the treatment of human existence and individuality in Marxist thought. The work will be primarily concerned with two related topics: the evaluation by Marxists of individual emancipation and their assessment of subjective factors in social theory. By taking up these taking up these topics within a systematic and historical framework I hope to generate some fresh light on several familiar issues. First I pursue a reading of Marx focused on his treatment of subjectivity individuation and related methodological and practical matters; second I apply this interpretation to analyzing the dispute between Marxist orthodoxy and heterodoxy over such matters as class consciousness and the philosophy of materialism; finally I employ this historical context to clarify the significance of existential Marxism Maurice Merleau-Ponty s and Jean-Paul Sartre s contribution to Marxist thought.