作为当代分析马克思主义的重要代表人物,埃尔斯特对马克思主义的政治哲学做了如下分析与建构:(1)方法论个人主义和理性选择理论作为现代社会科学研究方法,有助于为马克思主义奠定微观基础并增强其解释力。(2)资本主义存在异化、剥削和低效三个严重缺陷,这三个缺陷构成了消灭资本主义的道德应然和历史必然。(3)基于资源禀赋的行为是划分阶级的标准,要形成阶级行动就必须消除集体行动中的“搭便车”现象。(4)资产阶级与统治者之间存在博弈,国家政权因而既具阶级性又有一定公共性。(5)共产主义蕴含两个层级的价值诉求:一是分配正义,二是人的自由发展和自我实现。(6)社会益品和负担的分配适用局部正义原则,按照单一规范进行分配不具现实可行性。

As one of the representative figures in the contemporary analysis of Marxism, Elster has used modern social science research methods such as methodological individualism and rational choice theory (game theory) to analyze Marxist political philosophy and establish a more reliable micro foundation for it.
Methodological individualism attaches great importance to the characteristics and functions of individuals and emphasizes that only by analyzing the micro-level components and mechanisms of society can we make scientific explanations of macro-level social phenomena. However, there are some problems with this kind of methodological individualism, for example, a collective may have different qualities than an individual due to its organizational structure. Elster regards the game theory as the best embodiment of rational choice theory and uses it to explain complex social phenomena. Game analysis aligns more with the reality of dynamic changes, adding new analytical tools to the Marxist theory. It should be noted that there are many irrational factors in society, so the results brought by rational choice and game analysis are often uncertain.
For Elster, Marx's critique of capitalism is based on three serious flaws: alienation, exploitation, and inefficiency. At the same time, Elster points out that the causes of capitalist problems have both generality and particularity, and the ills of capitalist society are not all caused by the capitalist system. Some of them are due to the nature of capitalist production, but some of them are due to the universal biological facts of mankind, and some of them are due to the inevitable problems in organizing production. It is a pragmatic approach to distinguish the problems caused by the capitalist system from the general problems existing in capitalist society.
Elster proposes a new definition of class by combining “assets” and “actions”. This definition helps to distinguish different classes within ruled groups or ruling groups, but there is no clear logical relationship between assets and behavior. Under the effect of individual psychological mechanisms, people with the same assets may not have the same behavior, and people with the same behavior may not come from the same assets. Elster recognizes the role of class struggle in promoting the development of human society, but points out that class struggle is not always dominant. State power has not only class character but also certain independence and public character. The bureaucrat group and the capitalists both try to maximize their interests, and there is a game between them.
Elster emphasizes the morality of Marxism and believes that Marx's expression of future communism contains two levels of value demands. The value appeal of the first level is distributive justice, and the value appeal of the second level is the free development and self-realization of human beings. In terms of the relationship between the two levels, the appeal of self-realization is higher than the appeal of distributive justice, which is the premise and guarantee of self-realization. Based on methodological individualism, rational choice, and game theory, Elster puts forward the view of local justice and expands the research horizon of distributive justice.