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Karl Marx/Polec1

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This resource gives information on Karl Marx's Critique of Political Economy.

Capital

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The most well-known work of Marx on political economy is of course Das Kapital : Kritik der politischen Oekonomie (Capital : A Critique of Political Economy).

  • The first volume (Der Produktionsprocess des Kapitals - The Process of Production of Capital) was first published 1867.
  • The second volume, on 'The Process of Circulation of Capital' was not completed by Marx, and was published posthumously by Friedrich Engels, in 1885.
  • The third volume, on 'The Process of Capitalist Production as a Whole,' was also published by Engels, in 1894.
  • Theorien über den Mehrwert (Theories of Surplus Value) is sometimes considered volume 4 of Das Kapital.

Some other writings on Political Economy

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Marx did also write other works on political economy, which were not all intended for publication, e.g.:

  • Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844, commonly known as the Paris manuscripts, written in 1844, first published 1932.
  • Lohnarbeit und Kapital (Wage Labour and Capital), a lecture of 1847, first published 1849.
  • Grundrisse der Kritik der Politische Ökonomie (Foundations of a Critique of Political Economy), a very extensive manuscript, written 1857-1858 as a draft for Capital, that was left aside, and was first published in 1939.
  • Zur Kritik der Politischen Oekonomie (A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy), first published 1859.
  • Lohn, Preis und Profit (Value, Price and Profit), an English-language lecture of 1865, first published 1898.

Apart from this it is important to mention a publication by Friedrich Engels, dating back to 1844, entitled 'Umrisse zu einer Kritik der Nationalökonomie' (Outlines of a Critique of Political Economy).

Development

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On the development of Marx's economic theory a lot has been written.

  • An introductory text was published by Witali Wygodski, originally in Russian, in 1965.
    • German: Die Geschichte einer grossen Entdeckung (1967)[1]
    • The Story of a Great Discovery : How Karl Marx wrote "Capital" (1974)[2]
    • Dutch: De ontwikkeling van het ekonomies denken van Marx : de geschiedenis van een grote ontdekking (1974)[3]
  • A more "modern" introduction was written by Francis Wheen in 2006: Marx's Das Kapital : a biography[4]
  • A very fundamental analysis is given in Rosdolsky, originally in German, 1968.
    • German: Zur Entstehungsgeschichte des Marx'schen Kapital : Der Rohentwurf des Kapital 1857–1858 (1968; The genesis of Marx's Capital : the draft of Capital 1857–1858) in 2 volumes (one of the first texts that delivered a comprehensive treatment of the Grundrisse)[5]
    • The making of Marx's Capital (1977)[6]

Capital 1

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The first volume of Capital bears the title 'The Process of Production of Capital,' and deals with fundamental concepts, related to the study of capitalist economy. Some of these concepts are: value, use value, exchange value, surplus value, wage labour, and of course capital. The systematic development of these concepts takes more than a thousand pages.[7] No easy stuff. Especially the first chapters are a big hindrance for studying Marx's ideas. But there are works to help you through this rice pudding, like for instance David Harvey's lectures and companion (2007-2019 check).[8] Another comprehensive study guide is given by Harry Cleaver (1979-2019 check).[9]

Capital 1 holds eight parts (and an appendix):

  • Part 1: Commodities and Money
  • Part 2: The Transformation of Money into Capital
  • Part 3: The Production of Absolute Surplus-Value
  • Part 4: The Production of Relative Surplus-Value
  • Part 5: The Production of Absolute and Relative Surplus-Value
  • Part 6: Wages
  • Part 7: The Process of Accumulation of Capital
  • Part 8: So-Called Primitive Accumulation
  • Appendix: Results of the Immediate Process of Production
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Footnotes

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  1. ↑ Berlin : Verlag Die Wirtschaft.
  2. ↑ Tunbridge Wells : Abacus Press. ISBN 0 85626 075 4. Available to borrow in Internet Archive.
  3. ↑ Nijmegen : SUN. ISBN 90 6168 062 X
  4. ↑ London : Atlantic Books. ISBN 978 1 84354 401 2. (Partial in Google Books.)
  5. ↑ Frankfurt am Main : Europäische Verlagsanstalt. ISBN 3 434 45003 3. Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 available to borrow in Internet Archive.
  6. ↑ London : Pluto Press. ISBN 9780904383379. Available to borrow in Internet Archive.
  7. ↑ In the Pelican edition 1976.
  8. ↑ Harvey's lectures online on Marx's Capital (and Grundrisse) and (vol. 1) companion to vol. 1
  9. ↑ Cleaver1 and Cleaver2
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