Outlines of a Critique of Political Economy

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'Outlines of a Critique of Political Economy' is an article by Friedrich Engels, written in 1843, and first published in German, under the title 'Umrisse zu einer Kritik der Nationalökonomie' in 1844 in the Deutsch–Französische Jahrbücher.

The Deutsch–Französische Jahrbücher (German-French Annals) was a journal, published by Karl Marx and Arnold Ruge in Paris, that had only one issue. In that issue Engels wrote two articles: 'The situation in England' (p. 152-181) and 'Outlines of a Critique of Political Economy' (p. 71-85). Among the other contributors to the Jahrbücher were Heinrich Heine and Karl Marx.

The 'Umrisse', as the article is often called, was first translated into English in 1964 by Martin Milligan.

The article was also translated in other languages, like Italian in 1895, Russian in 1905 and French in 1974.

The article has often been neglected, but played an important role in the development of the marxian critique of political economy.