Das Kapital, Gateway Edition (Skeptical Reader Series) [ABRIDGED] (Paperback)

~ (Author) "The wealth of those societies in which the capitalist mode of production prevails, presents itself as "an immense accumulation of commodities," its unit being a..." (more)
Key Phrases: being human labour, social productive power, detail labourer, Adam Smith, Concept of Relative Surplus-Value (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

A more comprehensible version of Marx's most famous work for the modern student of socialist and Communist thought.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Gateway Editions (January 25, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 089526711X
• ISBN-13: 978-0895267115
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #442,362 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

64 of 70 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Should not be abridged., January 14, 2001

By	C. E. R. Mendonça "Carlos Eduardo Rebello de ... (Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I began reading "Capital" in 1982, and having begun from scratch to read Book One, with the famous Hegelian section on the nature of the commodity as the standard form of social wealth in capitalism - a section skipped by most Anglo-Saxon abridgers, who tend to treat Marx as only a "post-Ricardian", in Samuelson's (in)famous dictum - I should say that I fear any kind of abridgment done to this work.In my view, all abridgments tend to create a more palatable view of the work abridged, therefore skipping the most intersting and controversial passages. Better to read an abridgment than forswearing reading it altogether, but I would strongly recommend anyone interested in Marx to do as I've done and tackle the Penguin complete ed., not forgetting to begin with the huge and superb introductory essay by Ernest Mandel. It won't hurt you, as it will allow one to form his/her personal view. It may be somekind of snobbery from my part, given that I read such a difficult work in a translation not to my mother-language and aided by a lenghty commentary, but after so many years, I still think it paid.

58 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars still many good points, June 28, 2000

By	O. B. Makhubela (South Africa) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As a student in Economics, I always engage in comparative analysis of Economics. Marxian Economics is generally presented as an early critique of classial economy, and a "difficult" one too. As to difficulty, it is not that unconscionably incomprehensible! There are many apsects of Marxian Economics that make a lot of sense (to me). True, Marx is most likely to be appealing to workers and below subsistence income earners, just as much as classical and neoclasscial economics is most likely to appeal to capital owners and free "marketeers". Not to forget Keynes who will garner support from those who prefer reasonable state intervention! So every school of thought has its own target and appeal. In this book, you will find basic concepts of labour theory of value (what determines the value of a commodity); monetary theory (the evolution of money); the Theory of Surplus Value (what is profit and how does it come about - to Marx, profit represents that portion of icome/value "improperly" appropriated by capital owners instead of accruing to workers. Since workers are the sole producers of goods from scratch to end, they should benefit from all income, or at least from most of it, as per Marxian argument); and lastly, the mechanism of production. Trust me, if you read Marxism with an open mind (and not with a bias attitude of it being revolutionary, inefficient, dictatorial and a threat), you will realize it has a very interesting, unique and relatively realistic method of explaning inequality and exploitation generally! Relative poverty does not exist exclusively in poor or so called "third-world" countries, even in UK, for example, there are relatively poor people (who for example cannot afford private schooling), despite its strong economy. As much as Communism/Socilaism is history, the ideas are still alive and very much interesting! Read it to enhance your understanding of this renowned work by Karl Marx!

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not the real deal, May 15, 2008

By	Alan Wallach (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Das Kapital (Hardcover)

Das Kapital is essential reading for any educated person. Unfortunately, this hardcover "collector's edition" is not the real deal. It's photocopied from an ancient English translation. It's also abridged. The publisher supplies no information about the translator(s). He also eliminates Marx's notes as well as the prefaces Marx and later Engels wrote for nineteenth century translations. Better to get the Penguin Classics edition published in association with New Left Review (Capital: Volume 1: A Critique of Political Economy (Penguin Classics)). It's the complete text, well translated by Ben Fowles, and contains Marx's notes along with the original prefaces.