Notes on James Mill

"Notes on James Mill" is a text written by Karl Marx in 1844, originally part of the so-called "Paris Notebooks". In it Marx criticizes parts of James Mill's Elements of Political Economy. It forms the foundation for what would later become his Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844.

"Notes on James Mill" is particularly important to the development of Marx's overall project because it gives insight into the concept of non-alienated labor. Here, non-alienated labor is described such that a person's immediate enjoyment of production is seen as evidence of his/her powers. However, it is also described as meeting the needs of others. This confirms the productive and social aspects of a person's species-being.