Customer Reviews

Capital : A Critique of Political Economy (Penguin Classics) (Volume 2)

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I hate how some of the other people reviewing the volumes of Das Kapital fail to see that at least in this book, Marx wasn't advocating anything. It was his analysis of the fundamental features of capitalism. This book deals with the cell of capitalism: the commodity. This book is simply Marx's analysis of how the labor in the production of commodities becomes the commodity itself (commodity fetishism). He identifies the three circuits of capital required to produce commodities in a capitalist society: money capital, productive capital, and commodity capital. The third chapter I found to be very interesting because in this chapter Marx identifies two forms of consumption, these being productive consumption and personal consumption. This created the circular flow of money to becoming either money capital or productive capital. Highly recommended for anyone looking to understand how societies function and how capitalism really works.

The most important point made in this volume is : "The production process appears simply as an unavoidable middle term, a necessary evil for the purpose of money-making." In his time, Marx could not have foreseen how this reality would transform our world beyond all imagination, once the current phase of mass consumption on a global scale was reached. Most objects capitalism offer today are objects with little usefulness, but are so thoroughly pushed by publicity and social conformism that they seem to fulfill vital necessities of life.

Although Marx's Capital remains a difficult read, it is essential for understanding the current economic mess, in particular the growth of unproductive speculative capital. With speculative debt reaching nearly ten times the level of the world's productive economy (GDP), it appears that the barons of capitalism have sealed their own fate. Find out why.

When I need a book it is almost too easy to get what I want. Choices of edition, binding, condition. Keep it up.

I used to ascribe to Marxist philosophy. However, there are problems with his analysis, and it can be seen in concrete terms from command economies. If the labor theory of value is true, then there is no difference between 1 year old scotch and 15-year old scotch whiskey, although conisseurs of liquor would disagree... shoddy products and inefficent workers come into play. Another problem is that Marx promises "Proof" of the labor theory of value but never gives it. Also, he talked alot about Capital but not a lot about Communism. He never discussed how Communist society would work in a modern world, giving us only vague extrapolations from "Primitive Communism" or Hunter/Gatherer societies. Worth the money though.