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

~ (Author), David Fernbach (Translator), Ernest Mandel (Introduction) "The circuit of capital comprises three stages..." (more)
Key Phrases: constant capital value, individual industrial capital, hoard formation, Adam Smith, Book Two, Mercantile System (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The "forgotten" second volume of Capital, Marx's world-shaking analysis of economics, politics, and history, contains the vital discussion of commodity, the cornerstone to Marx's theories.

About the Author

Karl Marx was born in 1818 in Trier, Germany and studied in Bonn and Berlin. Influenced by Hegel, he later reacted against idealist philosophy and began to develop his own theory of historical materialism. He related the state of society to its economic foundations and mode of production, and recommended armed revolution on the part of the proletariat. Together with Engels, who he met in Paris, he wrote the Manifesto of the Communist Party. He lived in England as a refugee until his death in 1888, after participating in an unsuccessful revolution in Germany. Ernst Mandel was a member of the Belgian TUV from 1954 to 1963 and was chosen for the annual Alfred Marshall Lectures by Cambridge University in 1978. He died in 1995 and the Guardian described him as 'one of the most creative and independent-minded revolutionary Marxist thinkers of the post-war world.'

Product Details

• Paperback: 624 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (March 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140445692
• ISBN-13: 978-0140445695
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #29,508 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The production process as a necessary evil for the purpose of money-making, February 13, 2009

By	Guy Denutte "A concerned citizen" (Cali, Colombia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

3 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must read, July 24, 2008

By	Radical reader (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

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.

0 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars EASY-QUICK-EFFICIENT, February 6, 2009

By	M. R. Vaughan (NEW YORK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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