?tienne Balibar is well-known for his marxist orientation and his communist studies following Louis Anthusser's interpretation of Marx. Louis Althousser, by the way, also thought Spinoza was somewhat a precursor of Marx. Balibar's interpretation of the political Spinoza is not very far from this idea. This book tends to a marxist interpretation of Spinoza.

However, once you get inside it, you realize that it is much more than that. Not only does Balibar presents us with a very interesting interpretation of the TTP, the TP and the "Ethics" (in this order, which is strange, considering the subversion of the chronological order), without fearing to approach the more subtle and complex issues surrounding Spinoza's political philosophy, he also presents us a manifesto of the freedom to philosophise even a communist orientation, which is very interesting.

It is far from the complexity and completness of Alexandre Matheron's classic book on the political Spinoza; nevertheless, considering how short this pamphlet is, its quality surpasses by far its shortness. If you are interested in knowing something about Spinoza's political philosophy, do not hesitate: this is your book.

(One word for the translation: although it is not a very dense book, not being filled with difficult philosophical concepts , Snowden's translation seems good enough, though. It is very readable. And this edition is an important note on the Spinoza studies, especially because the french edition is, go figure why, out of print for several years now.)