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- Herausgeber: Booksell-Verlag
- Kategorie: Fachliteratur
- Sprache: Englisch
In "Capital (Das Kapital)," Karl Marx presents a foundational critique of political economy, examining the capitalist system's inner workings and its socio-economic implications. The work, dense with theoretical insights and intricate analysis, employs a dialectical materialist methodology to explore concepts like commodity fetishism, surplus value, and the exploitation inherent within labor relations. Set against the backdrop of the Industrial Revolution and the burgeoning capitalist economies of the 19th century, Marx's writing combines rigorous economic theory with a compelling narrative style, aiming to unveil the contradictions that underpin capitalist societies. Karl Marx, a philosopher, economist, and revolutionary socialist, was profoundly affected by the social injustices he observed during his time. His experiences as a journalist and his engagement with various economic theories shaped his critical perspective on capitalism. "Capital" emerged from his desire to lay bare the mechanisms driving economic inequality and the alienation of the working class, motivated not only by scholarly pursuits but by a revolutionary spirit advocating for social change. For readers interested in economics, sociology, or political theory, "Capital" is an essential text that invites deeper reflections on the complexities of modern economic structures. Its rich theoretical framework provides critical insights into contemporary discussions about capitalism, making it not only relevant but indispensable for understanding ongoing global economic issues. In this enriched edition, we have carefully created added value for your reading experience: - A succinct Introduction situates the work's timeless appeal and themes. - The Synopsis outlines the central plot, highlighting key developments without spoiling critical twists. - A detailed Historical Context immerses you in the era's events and influences that shaped the writing. - An Author Biography reveals milestones in the author's life, illuminating the personal insights behind the text. - A thorough Analysis dissects symbols, motifs, and character arcs to unearth underlying meanings. - Reflection questions prompt you to engage personally with the work's messages, connecting them to modern life. - Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance. - Interactive footnotes clarify unusual references, historical allusions, and archaic phrases for an effortless, more informed read.
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023
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Capital (Das Kapital)
Table of Contents
Introduction
This collection, titled 'Capital (Das Kapital)' by Karl Marx, serves as a definitive resource for those seeking to understand the intricacies of Marx's critical analysis of political economy, capitalism, and society. Through a curated selection of Marx's seminal works, this anthology not only presents his major contributions to economic theory but also illuminates the broader context of his social philosophy. Readers will embark on an intellectual journey that unravels the foundations of Marxist thought, inviting them to reflect on the implications of capitalism in both historical and contemporary settings. The purpose of this collection is to provide scholars, students, and curious minds access to Marx's most influential writings in a cohesive and accessible format.
The texts included in this collection represent a diverse array of genres and forms that demonstrate Marx's multifaceted approach to writing and theory. At its core, the collection features extensive essays and treatises that dissect the mechanics of capitalist production and circulation, particularly as articulated in 'Capital' and its accompanying volumes. Additionally, the inclusion of essential precursors like 'Wages, Price and Profit' and 'The Communist Manifesto' allows readers to appreciate the evolution of Marx's thought. By bridging both theoretical discourse and political manifesto, this anthology encapsulates the conviction and urgency present in Marx's writings across various contexts.
Unifying themes permeate this collection, ultimately reflecting Marx's critical stance against capitalist exploitation and inequality. Through rigorous analysis, Marx examines the alienation of labor, the intricacies of commodity exchange, and the inherent contradictions of capital accumulation. Stylistically, his writings embody a dialectical method, wherein complex ideas are unpacked through a framework of oppositional forces. This dialectic not only clarifies Marx's philosophical underpinnings but also reinforces the urgency of his critique of capitalism. The relevance of these works continues to resonate with discussions of economic inequality, labor rights, and social justice today, ensuring that Marx's ideas endure in contemporary discourse.
The significance of this collection extends beyond mere historical context; it provides a lens through which readers can interrogate the dynamics of power, class struggle, and economic systems within their own lives. As the reader engages with each of these vital works, they will discover how Marx's analysis transcends his own era to challenge contemporary social structures. His incisive critiques encourage a deeper understanding of global capitalism's impact on individuals and communities alike. Thus, this anthology aims to provoke thought and inspire action, compelling the reader to reassess their perspectives on economics and societal organization.
As readers navigate the intricacies of Marx's 'Capital', they will uncover a meticulous exploration of economics that critiques the capitalist mode of production with scholarly rigor. Volume 1 delves into the fundamental concepts of value, labor, and surplus, establishing a foundation for understanding the capitalist system. Following this is Volume 2, which emphasizes the cyclical nature of capital and the fluid processes of circulation. In Volume 3, Marx consolidates his analysis by examining capitalism as a whole, offering invaluable insights into the interconnectedness of production, exchange, and their societal effects. Together, these works present a comprehensive examination of capitalism's dynamics.
In addition to the central volumes of 'Capital', this collection includes pivotal essays such as 'Wages, Price and Profit'. In this work, Marx challenges the prevailing economic assumptions of his time, positing a nuanced understanding of wage labor and its relationship to profit generation. By dissecting the myths surrounding wages, he asserts the need for workers to recognize their collective strength in the capitalist system. This essay stands as a clarion call for economic awareness amongst laborers, further enhancing the reader's grasp of the foundational themes present throughout Marx's body of work.
Moreover, 'The Communist Manifesto' captures Marx's revolutionary fervor, articulating a vision of collective action and societal transformation through solidarity among the working class. It succinctly synthesizes the ideas foundational to Marxist theory, emphasizing class struggle as the driving force behind historical development. The manifesto's enduring resonance lies in its call to action, making it a vital component of this collection that seeks to inspire a sense of agency among readers. Through its impassioned rhetoric, Marx frames the necessity for a radical transformation of society in the name of justice and equity.
The texts contained within this anthology also serve as historical documents, contextualizing Marx's theories within the socio-political milieu of the 19th century. They explore the responses to industrialization and capitalism's expansion, providing insight into the struggles and ideologies that shaped this transformative epoch. Marx's critique of capitalism was not solely an intellectual exercise; it emerged from a critical engagement with the lived experiences of oppression and disenfranchisement. Therefore, readers can appreciate the relevance of Marx's ideas, as they are inextricably linked to the historical events that unfolded in his time and beyond.
While the works in this collection are dense and complex in their theoretical frameworks, they are also characterized by a clear and compelling prose style. Marx separated himself from the arcane language often found in philosophical discourse by articulating his ideas in accessible terms without sacrificing depth. This ability to engage with a diverse audience made his writings not only significant for intellectuals but also for a broader public wrestling with the implications of capitalism. His commitment to clarity and social inquiry presents an exemplary model for contemporary scholars and activists alike.
The collection is not merely an academic text; it engages with the reader on a philosophical and ethical level. The themes introduced in Marx's works invite readers to ponder profound questions about justice, equality, and the moral implications of economic systems. By engaging deeply with the texts, readers are prompted to reflect on their own beliefs regarding labor, ownership, and wealth. In doing so, they may find themselves drawn into discussions about the morality and sustainability of capitalism as it exists today, fostering a critical perspective that encourages societal reflection and change.
Importantly, 'Capital (Das Kapital)' challenges readers to confront the contradictions inherent in capitalism itself. By exposing the mechanisms through which capitalism commodifies labor and perpetuates class divisions, Marx's writings illuminate the moral dilemmas faced by individuals within economic systems. This critical lens compels the reader to not only absorb Marxist theory but to actively engage with its implications in real-world scenarios. Thus, the collection serves as both an intellectual resource and a catalyst for critical discourse around contemporary economic practices and their societal consequences.
Furthermore, the anthology's carefully curated structure enables readers to witness Marx's intellectual evolution over time. Beginning with essential foundational texts that lay the groundwork for his critique of political economy, readers can follow the progression of his thought as he expands and refines his ideas. Each volume and essay builds upon the last, creating a cohesive narrative that underscores the interconnections between his theories on capitalism, labor, and social injustice. This scholarly organization invites a deeper understanding of the development of Marxist thought throughout the late 19th century.
Readers will find the collection to be an invaluable resource for interdisciplinary study, linking economics, sociology, philosophy, and political science. Marx's works challenge disciplinary boundaries, offering insights that remain relevant across various fields of inquiry. By examining the implications of capitalism from multiple angles, readers will appreciate the complexity of socio-economic realities. This interdisciplinary approach not only enhances their comprehension of Marx's theories but also provides them with the tools necessary to analyze contemporary issues affecting global economies.
In contemporary discussions surrounding economic systems, discrepancies in wealth distribution and societal equity continue to dominate conversations. The issues Marx addressed in his writings resonate strongly today, as income inequality, exploitation, and the commodification of labor remain pressing concerns. This anthology serves as a vital reminder that, while Marx's analysis stemmed from a specific historical context, many of the dilemmas he identified persist, necessitating a renewed engagement with his ideas. Readers can thus glean insights that can inform understanding and responses to present-day economic challenges.
As our global society grapples with critical economic questions, the relevance of Marx's critiques remains undeniable. His call for collective agency and solidarity among working people continues to inspire movements advocating for social change. This collection aids in rekindling an understanding of solidarity and cooperative struggle, empowering readers to envision a path toward a more equitable society. Engaging with Marx's work invites individuals to join in ongoing dialogues about capitalism's ramifications and envision what a just economic system might entail.
In conclusion, 'Capital (Das Kapital)' represents a crucial compilation of Karl Marx's most significant works, offering readers an opportunity to immerse themselves in his revolutionary ideas. Each text within this collection not only showcases Marx's intellectual brilliance but also provides critical tools for understanding the economic and social systems that shape our world. As the reader delves into these works, they will uncover valuable insights that bridge the gap between theory and practice, urging a reexamination of the status quo in an ever-evolving landscape.
We invite you to explore this comprehensive single-author collection of Karl Marx's works, where each volume serves as a building block in constructing a nuanced understanding of capitalism and its implications. Whether you are a seasoned scholar, a student of social theory, or simply interested in the intersections of economics and society, this anthology provides a wealth of insight that remains remarkably relevant. Engage with Marx’s timeless critiques, challenge your own perspectives, and broaden your understanding as you journey through this thought-provoking collection.
Historical Context
The works of Karl Marx, particularly his seminal economic study, emerged during a transformative period in European history defined by the Industrial Revolution. Beginning in the late 18th century and extending into the 19th, this revolution catalyzed profound economic, social, and cultural changes. Industrialization led to the rise of factories, urbanization, and a shift from agrarian economies to capitalist systems, thus setting the stage for his critique of wage labor and commodity production. The rapid transition, marked by both opportunities and hardships, significantly influenced his thought as he sought to address the implications of capitalist structures on society.
The early 19th century was characterized by significant social upheaval and class struggle, with emerging labor movements in response to exploitation in industrial settings. Across Europe, including the United Kingdom and German states, workers began to form unions and engage in strikes, advocating for improved conditions, fair wages, and reasonable hours. These developments informed his concept of historical materialism, in which conflict between distinct social classes—commonly described as the bourgeoisie and the proletariat—drives historical change. Such dynamics feature prominently throughout his body of work.
In 1848, the publication of a political pamphlet coauthored with Friedrich Engels marked a pivotal moment in both his career and the broader political landscape. The text called for the revolutionary transformation of capitalist societies and laid out the principles of a classless system. Released amid widespread revolutionary activity across Europe, its opening declaration—“A spectre is haunting Europe—the spectre of communism”—positioned the authors at the forefront of contemporary debates on social justice and working-class emancipation.
The philosophical foundations of his analysis are rooted in 19th-century German thought, particularly the dialectical method inherited from Hegel. He inverted Hegel’s idealist framework, proposing instead that material conditions and economic relations shape human consciousness and societal development. This dialectical materialism underpins his examination of production and exchange in the later volumes, where he emphasizes socio-economic realities over abstract ideals.
His engagement with political economy drew substantially on predecessors such as Adam Smith and David Ricardo, whose labor and value theories served as a starting point for his own investigations. The third volume of his major work expands these foundations while critiquing their limitations, insisting that capitalist production systematically generates surplus value by extracting the difference between what labor produces and what it receives in wages. This analysis highlights contradictions within capitalism that, in his view, contain the seeds of its future transformation.
Mid-19th-century Europe also experienced the rise of nationalism and the consolidation of state power, developments that affected class relations and social organization. He observed how national identities and class interests could intersect or conflict, while noting that state institutions often function to uphold ruling-class privileges. This tension between national and class struggles informs much of his social and economic critique.
In 1865, he delivered a pamphlet originally presented at the Geneva meeting of the International Workingmen’s Association, the organization commonly known as the First International. In it, he analyzed the relationships among wages, prices, and profits, challenging mainstream economic assumptions about the fairness of wage labor. His arguments sparked discussion among activists and intellectuals, reinforcing the role of organized labor in the economy and advocating for workers’ rights at a time when numerous associations sought political representation.
The socio-economic landscape of the century also featured expanding global trade and colonialism, as European powers extended their empires in search of resources and markets. He addressed this “primitive accumulation” of capital, arguing that the global expansion of production was often accompanied by violence, dispossession, and inequality—an observation that continues to inform contemporary studies of globalization.
The intellectual climate of his era saw the emergence of a distinct working-class consciousness, as individuals recognized shared interests and potential collective power. His writings articulated workers’ grievances and aspirations, helping to foster solidarity. The call for revolutionary change in the 1848 pamphlet inspired many labor organizations and laid groundwork for socialist and communist parties that formed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, all aiming to address social inequities.
Throughout his career, the interplay of philosophy, political economy, and social action formed the foundation of his thought. Collaborations with contemporaries like Engels and exchanges with other radical thinkers shaped his theories, demonstrating the collective nature of intellectual work and the importance he placed on linking theory to practical struggle.
The revolutions of 1848, often called the “Springtime of Nations,” provided a vivid backdrop of political upheaval, debates over sovereignty, and demands for social justice. Although most uprisings were suppressed, they influenced future movements. His involvement in revolutionary circles and subsequent exile from his homeland deepened his commitment to critiquing existing social orders and infused his writings with a sense of urgency.
While his primary focus remained European, he also reflected on economic developments in the United States, where rapid industrial growth and diverse labor conditions presented a contrasting case study. His ideas resonated across the Atlantic, prompting responses from American labor activists and scholars who grappled with the challenges of industrial capitalism in their own context.
As industrial capitalism matured, debates over the state’s role in regulating economic life intensified. He argued that state intervention under capitalism typically serves to defend established property relations and that true emancipation of the working class could only be achieved through revolutionary transformation rather than reforms within existing structures.
Technological and scientific advances played a key role in reshaping production, with machinery and transport innovations altering labor dynamics. In the second volume of his work, he explores how capital’s circulation drives industrial progress while generating contradictions and crises—a relationship that lies at the heart of his critique.
After 1848, socialism began to emerge as a coherent political movement, responding to perceived failures of liberal and capitalist systems to resolve social inequalities. Although multiple factors contributed to this development, his theories and involvement in the founding of the International Workingmen’s Association in 1864 were significant. He believed that organized collective action was essential for achieving workers’ liberation.
The tension between reform and revolution within the labor movement also shaped his perspective. While contemporaries argued for incremental improvements within the capitalist framework, he maintained that only a radical overhaul could deliver lasting emancipation. This conviction runs through his economic and political writings, underscoring his commitment to profound social change.
In summary, the historical context of his work encompasses industrialization, labor movements, philosophical debates, and political upheavals that together formed the backdrop for his critique of capitalist society. These elements combined to produce a comprehensive analysis of economic exploitation and class struggle—an enduring legacy that continues to influence scholars and activists in pursuit of social justice.
Author Biography
Introduction
Karl Marx was a German philosopher, economist, journalist, and revolutionary whose writings transformed political thought and social theory. Best known for co-authoring The Communist Manifesto and authoring Capital (Das Kapital), he developed a materialist analysis of history centered on class struggle and the dynamics of capitalism. His work bridged rigorous scholarship and political advocacy, influencing labor movements, socialist parties, and revolutions across the world. Living much of his adult life in exile and spending his later years in London, Marx combined archival research with polemical prose. His arguments about exploitation, alienation, and the contradictions of capitalist production continue to shape debates in economics, sociology, and cultural criticism.
Education and Literary Influences
Marx studied law and philosophy in the 1830s, first at the University of Bonn and then at the University of Berlin, where he engaged with debates surrounding German idealism. He completed a doctoral dissertation in the early 1840s at the University of Jena on ancient atomism, examining the philosophies of Democritus and Epicurus. In Berlin he associated with the Young Hegelians, a circle advancing critical interpretations of Hegel. Political pressures hindered an academic career, directing Marx toward journalism and public debate. His early exposure to classical philosophy, jurisprudence, and contemporary criticism provided the foundation for his later synthesis of history, economics, and social theory.
Marx’s intellectual formation combined German philosophy, British political economy, and French socialist thought. From Hegel he drew a dialectical method, while Ludwig Feuerbach’s materialism pushed him to rethink the grounding of ideas in social life. He critically engaged Adam Smith and David Ricardo, adopting and transforming classical theories of value and distribution. Encounters with French socialist currents and the experience of urban industry, conveyed also through Friedrich Engels’s studies of working-class conditions, shaped his political economy. He read widely in history, statistics, and literature, forging a style that merged empirical inquiry with sharp polemic. These influences converged into his theory of historical materialism.
Literary Career
Marx began as a radical journalist in the early 1840s, editing the Rheinische Zeitung and confronting censorship that soon led to suppression and exile. In Paris and Brussels he developed his critique of philosophy and politics, writing with Engels The German Ideology, which introduced the materialist conception of history, though it remained unpublished in his lifetime. He also drafted the Theses on Feuerbach, concise notes reflecting his turn from interpreting the world to changing it. During these years he helped organize political circles that would later coalesce into the Communist League, seeking to connect theory with the emerging European workers’ movement.
Commissioned by the Communist League, The Communist Manifesto appeared in the late 1840s. Its vivid narrative of class struggle, analysis of the bourgeoisie and proletariat, and call for workers of the world to unite condensed his historical argument into a forceful pamphlet. Initial impact was uneven, as the 1848 revolutions surged and receded, but the text became a lasting reference for socialist and communist movements. Its concise rhetoric, sweeping historical scope, and programmatic demands made it an enduring work of political literature, widely translated and debated, and often banned. Over time it helped frame global discussions about capitalism, colonialism, and emancipation.
After the upheavals of 1848, Marx settled in London, where he conducted extensive research in the British Museum Reading Room. He wrote journalism for international audiences, notably contributing reports on politics and economics for newspapers in the 1850s. His historical analysis The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte dissected the interplay of class forces and political representation in France. The first volume of Capital appeared in the late 1860s, presenting his critique of political economy: commodity production, value, surplus value, and the tendency of capital to concentrate. Reception was modest at first but influential among socialists and critical economists who took up its arguments.
Marx’s later career combined scholarship and organizing. He helped found the International Working Men’s Association in the 1860s, drafting its inaugural documents and engaging in strategic debates. The Civil War in France analyzed the Paris Commune, interpreting it as a working-class experiment in political power. He critiqued rival doctrines, including Proudhon’s and later currents he viewed as insufficiently materialist or democratic. He continued to assemble notebooks, drafts, and correspondence that informed his ongoing revisions to Capital. Some of his major texts, such as the Grundrisse and The German Ideology, were published only in the twentieth century, reshaping scholarly understanding of his method and development.
Beliefs and Advocacy
Marx advanced a theory of historical materialism, holding that the mode of production shapes social relations, political institutions, and dominant ideas. He argued that class struggle is the engine of historical change, with capitalism intensifying exploitation through wage labor and the extraction of surplus value. He criticized alienation in capitalist societies, where workers’ creative capacities are reduced to commodities. Marx envisioned a transition in which the working class would abolish class domination and reorganize production collectively. He stressed internationalism, contending that the emancipation of labor transcends national borders, and saw socialism as a scientific project grounded in rigorous analysis of economic dynamics.
Committed to praxis, Marx joined and guided organizations that linked theory to working-class self-activity. He supported trade union struggles, legal restrictions on the working day, and universal political rights as steps that strengthened collective capacity. He rejected utopian blueprints and state-centered paternalism, insisting that emancipation be won by workers themselves. Marx criticized doctrines he considered authoritarian or voluntarist, emphasizing democratic organization and strategic engagement with parliamentary and extra-parliamentary arenas. His interventions in debates over programmatic principles—such as his critique of opportunism within workers’ parties—sought to clarify aims and tactics, anchoring political action in a sober assessment of material conditions and class forces.
Marx’s advocacy was inseparable from his writing. He produced polemics that challenged contemporaries, including a systematic refutation of Proudhon and later disputes inside the International. His analyses fused historical narrative with statistical evidence, drawing on factory reports, trade data, and parliamentary inquiries to illuminate exploitation and crisis. He used satire and irony to expose pretensions of ruling ideologies, while maintaining a scholarly apparatus of footnotes and sources. The balance between theoretical abstraction and concrete detail made his work both demanding and politically operative. In public life he was a strategist, arguing for organization, education, and solidarity as the means to durable social transformation.
Final Years & Legacy
In his later years Marx faced recurring illness and personal losses that hindered work, yet he continued to revise his economic manuscripts. He prepared materials for further volumes of Capital, which Friedrich Engels would edit and publish after Marx’s death, extending the analysis of circulation and profit. He maintained correspondence with activists and scholars across Europe and beyond, advising on organizational questions and research. Marx died in the early 1880s in London and was buried at Highgate Cemetery. Obituaries recognized him as a leading critic of capitalism and a central figure in the socialist movement, though controversy over his doctrines persisted.
Marx’s legacy spans politics, social science, and culture. His ideas informed social democratic parties, revolutionary movements, and later state projects, while also inspiring critical traditions in sociology, historiography, literary theory, and anthropology. Interpretations have varied widely, from democratic socialism to authoritarian variants, prompting enduring debates about means and ends. Scholarly editions, including the Marx-Engels-Gesamtausgabe, and digital archives have expanded access to his notebooks and drafts, refining understanding of his method. In times of economic crisis, renewed interest in Capital and his analyses of finance, inequality, and globalization often surges. Today his work remains central to discussions of power, labor, and social change.
Synopsis (Selection)
Capital
In the first volume of 'Capital', Karl Marx analyzes the nature of capitalist production, focusing on the concepts of commodities, labor, and surplus value to illustrate how capitalism exploits labor and generates social inequality.
Vol. 2 - The Process of Circulation of Capital
This volume examines the stages of capital circulation, detailing how capital moves through various forms, from money to commodities and back again, and the implications for the overall capitalist economy.
Vol. 3 - The Process of Capitalist Production as a Whole
Here, Marx explores the dynamics of capitalist production as an integrated system, discussing issues of profit, competition, and the tendency of the rate of profit to fall, all contributing to the systemic crises of capitalism.
Two Important Precursors to Capital
This collection includes critical early writings that lay the groundwork for Marx's later theories in 'Capital', discussing the nature of labor, wealth, and economic systems.
Wages, Price and Profit (1865)
In this work, Marx articulates the relationship between wages, prices, and profit, advocating for workers' rights and debunking the false narratives surrounding labor compensation within capitalist economies.
The Communist Manifesto
Jointly authored with Friedrich Engels, this political pamphlet outlines the principles of communism and the class struggle, calling for the overthrow of capitalist societies and the establishment of a proletarian state.
Capital (Das Kapital)
Capital
Vol. 1 - The Process of Capitalist Production
Author’s Preface: First German Edition
The work, the first volume of which I now submit to the public, forms the continuation of my Zur Kritik der Politischen Oekonomie (A Contribution to the Criticism of Political Economy) published in 1859. The long pause between the first part and the continuation is due to an illness of many years’ duration that again and again interrupted my work.
The substance of that earlier work is summarised in the first three chapters of this volume. This is done not merely for the sake of connexion and completeness. The presentation of the subject matter is improved. As far as circumstances in any way permit, many points only hinted at in the earlier book are here worked out more fully, whilst, conversely, points worked out fully there are only touched upon in this volume. The sections on the history of the theories of value and of money are now, of course, left out altogether. The reader of the earlier work will find, however, in the notes to the first chapter additional sources of reference relative to the history of those theories.
Every beginning is difficult, holds in all sciences. To understand the first chapter, especially the section that contains the analysis of commodities, will, therefore, present the greatest difficulty. That which concerns more especially the analysis of the substance of value and the magnitude of value, I have, as much as it was possible, popularised.1 The value-form, whose fully developed shape is the money-form, is very elementary and simple. Nevertheless, the human mind has for more than 2,000 years sought in vain to get to the bottom of it all, whilst on the other hand, to the successful analysis of much more composite and complex forms, there has been at least an approximation. Why? Because the body, as an organic whole, is more easy of study than are the cells of that body. In the analysis of economic forms, moreover, neither microscopes nor chemical reagents are of use. The force of abstraction must replace both. But in bourgeois society, the commodity-form of the product of labour – or value-form of the commodity – is the economic cell-form. To the superficial observer, the analysis of these forms seems to turn upon minutiae. It does in fact deal with minutiae, but they are of the same order as those dealt with in microscopic anatomy.
With the exception of the section on value-form, therefore, this volume cannot stand accused on the score of difficulty. I presuppose, of course, a reader who is willing to learn something new and therefore to think for himself.
The physicist either observes physical phenomena where they occur in their most typical form and most free from disturbing influence, or, wherever possible, he makes experiments under conditions that assure the occurrence of the phenomenon in its normality. In this work I have to examine the capitalist mode of production, and the conditions of production and exchange corresponding to that mode. Up to the present time, their classic ground is England. That is the reason why England is used as the chief illustration in the development of my theoretical ideas. If, however, the German reader shrugs his shoulders at the condition of the English industrial and agricultural labourers, or in optimist fashion comforts himself with the thought that in Germany things are not nearly so bad; I must plainly tell him, “De te fabula narratur!” [It is of you that the story is told. – Horace]
Intrinsically, it is not a question of the higher or lower degree of development of the social antagonisms that result from the natural laws of capitalist production. It is a question of these laws themselves, of these tendencies working with iron necessity towards inevitable results. The country that is more developed industrially only shows, to the less developed, the image of its own future.
But apart from this. Where capitalist production is fully naturalised among the Germans (for instance, in the factories proper) the condition of things is much worse than in England, because the counterpoise of the Factory Acts is wanting. In all other spheres, we, like all the rest of Continental Western Europe, suffer not only from the development of capitalist production, but also from the incompleteness of that development. Alongside the modern evils, a whole series of inherited evils oppress us, arising from the passive survival of antiquated modes of production, with their inevitable train of social and political anachronisms. We suffer not only from the living, but from the dead. Le mort saisit le vif![The dead holds the living in his grasp. – formula of French common law]
The social statistics of Germany and the rest of Continental Western Europe are, in comparison with those of England, wretchedly compiled. But they raise the veil just enough to let us catch a glimpse of the Medusa head behind it. We should be appalled at the state of things at home, if, as in England, our governments and parliaments appointed periodically commissions of inquiry into economic conditions; if these commissions were armed with the same plenary powers to get at the truth; if it was possible to find for this purpose men as competent, as free from partisanship and respect of persons as are the English factory-inspectors, her medical reporters on public health, her commissioners of inquiry into the exploitation of women and children, into housing and food. Perseus wore a magic cap down over his eyes and ears as a make-believe that there are no monsters.
Let us not deceive ourselves on this. As in the 18th century, the American war of independence sounded the tocsin for the European middle class, so that in the 19th century, the American Civil War sounded it for the European working class. In England the process of social disintegration is palpable. When it has reached a certain point, it must react on the Continent. There it will take a form more brutal or more humane, according to the degree of development of the working class itself. Apart from higher motives, therefore, their own most important interests dictate to the classes that are for the nonce the ruling ones, the removal of all legally removable hindrances to the free development of the working class. For this reason, as well as others, I have given so large a space in this volume to the history, the details, and the results of English factory legislation. One nation can and should learn from others. And even when a society has got upon the right track for the discovery of the natural laws of its movement – and it is the ultimate aim of this work, to lay bare the economic law of motion of modern society – it can neither clear by bold leaps, nor remove by legal enactments, the obstacles offered by the successive phases of its normal development. But it can shorten and lessen the birth-pangs.
To prevent possible misunderstanding, a word. I paint the capitalist and the landlord in no sense couleur de rose[i.e., seen through rose-tinted glasses]. But here individuals are dealt with only in so far as they are the personifications of economic categories, embodiments of particular class-relations and class-interests. My standpoint, from which the evolution of the economic formation of society is viewed as a process of natural history, can less than any other make the individual responsible for relations whose creature he socially remains, however much he may subjectively raise himself above them.
In the domain of Political Economy, free scientific inquiry meets not merely the same enemies as in all other domains. The peculiar nature of the materials it deals with, summons as foes into the field of battle the most violent, mean and malignant passions of the human breast, the Furies of private interest. The English Established Church, e.g., will more readily pardon an attack on 38 of its 39 articles than on 1/39 of its income. Now-a-days atheism is culpa levis[a relatively slight sin, c.f. mortal sin], as compared with criticism of existing property relations. Nevertheless, there is an unmistakable advance. I refer, e.g., to the Blue book published within the last few weeks: “Correspondence with Her Majesty’s Missions Abroad, regarding Industrial Questions and Trades’ Unions.” The representatives of the English Crown in foreign countries there declare in so many words that in Germany, in France, to be brief, in all the civilised states of the European Continent, radical change in the existing relations between capital and labour is as evident and inevitable as in England. At the same time, on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, Mr. Wade, vice-president of the United States, declared in public meetings that, after the abolition of slavery, a radical change of the relations of capital and of property in land is next upon the order of the day. These are signs of the times, not to be hidden by purple mantles or black cassocks. They do not signify that tomorrow a miracle will happen. They show that, within the ruling classes themselves, a foreboding is dawning, that the present society is no solid crystal, but an organism capable of change, and is constantly changing.
The second volume of this book will treat of the process of the circulation of capital2 (Book II.), and of the varied forms assumed by capital in the course of its development (Book III.), the third and last volume (Book IV.), the history of the theory.
Every opinion based on scientific criticism I welcome. As to prejudices of so-called public opinion, to which I have never made concessions, now as aforetime the maxim of the great Florentine is mine:
“Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti.”
Karl Marx
London,
July 25, 1867.
Editor’s Preface: First English Translation
The publication of an English version of “Das Kapital” needs no apology. On the contrary, an explanation might be expected why this English version has been delayed until now, seeing that for some years past the theories advocated in this book have been constantly referred to, attacked and defended, interpreted and misinterpreted, in the periodical press and the current literature of both England and America.
When, soon after the author's death in 1883, it became evident that an English edition of the work was really required, Mr. Samuel Moore, for many years a friend of Marx and of the present writer, and than whom, perhaps, no one is more conversant with the book itself, consented to undertake the translation which the literary executors of Marx were anxious to lay before the public. It was understood that I should compare the MS. with the original work, and suggest such alterations as I might deem advisable. When, by and by, it was found that Mr. Moore's professional occupations prevented him from finishing the translation as quickly as we all desired, we gladly accepted Dr. Aveling's offer to undertake a portion of the work; at the same time Mrs. Aveling, Marx's youngest daughter, offered to check the quotations and to restore the original text of the numerous passages taken from English authors and Blue books and translated by Marx into German. This has been done throughout, with but a few unavoidable exceptions.
The following portions of the book have been translated by Dr. Aveling: (I) Chapters X. (The Working day), and XI. (Rate and Mass of Surplus-Value); (2) Part VI. (Wages, comprising Chapters XIX. to XXII.); (3) from Chapter XXIV., Section 4 (Circumstances that &c.) to the end of the book, comprising the latter part of Chapter XXIV.,. Chapter XXV., and the whole of Part VIII. (Chapters XXVI. to XXXIII); (4) the two Author's prefaces. All the rest of the book has been done by Mr. Moore. While, thus, each of the translators is responsible for his share of the work only, I bear a joint responsibility for the whole.
The third German edition, which has been made the basis of our work throughout, was prepared by me, in 1883, with the assistance of notes left by the author, indicating the passages of the second edition to be replaced by designated passages, from the French text published in 1873.6 The alterations thus effected in the text of the second edition generally coincided with changes prescribed by Marx in a set of MS. instructions for an English translation that was planned, about ten years ago, in America, but abandoned chiefly for want of a fit and proper translator. This MS. was placed at our disposal by our old friend Mr. F. A. Sorge of Hoboken N. J. It designates some further interpolations from the French edition; but, being so many years older than the final instructions for the third edition, I did not consider myself at liberty to make use of it otherwise than sparingly, and chiefly in cases where it helped us over difficulties. In the same way, the French text has been referred to in most of the difficult passages, as an indicator of what the author himself was prepared to sacrifice wherever something of the full import of the original had to be sacrificed in the rendering.
There is, however, one difficulty we could not spare the reader: the use of certain terms in a sense different from what they have, not only in common life, but in ordinary Political Economy. But this was unavoidable. Every new aspect of a science involves a revolution in the technical terms of that science. This is best shown by chemistry, where the whole of the terminology is radically changed about once in twenty years, and where you will hardly find a single organic compound that has not gone through a whole series of different names. Political Economy has generally been content to take, just as they were, the terms of commercial and industrial life, and to operate with them, entirely failing to see that by so doing, it confined itself within the narrow circle of ideas expressed by those terms. Thus, though perfectly aware that both profits and rent are but sub-divisions, fragments of that unpaid part of the product which the labourer has to supply to his employer (its first appropriator, though not its ultimate exclusive owner), yet even classical Political Economy never went beyond the received notions of profits and rents, never examined this unpaid part of the product (called by Marx surplus-product) in its integrity as a whole, and therefore never arrived at a clear comprehension, either of its origin and nature, or of the laws that regulate the subsequent distribution of its value. Similarly all industry, not agricultural or handicraft, is indiscriminately comprised in the term of manufacture, and thereby the distinction is obliterated between two great and essentially different periods of economic history: the period of manufacture proper, based on the division of manual labour, and the period of modern industry based on machinery. It is, however, self- evident that a theory which views modern capitalist production as a mere passing stage in the economic history of mankind, must make use of terms different from those habitual to writers who look upon that form of production as imperishable and final.
A word respecting the author's method of quoting may not be out of place. In the majority of cases, the quotations serve, in the usual way, as documentary evidence in support of assertions made in the text. But in many instances, passages from economic writers are quoted in order to indicate when, where, and by whom a certain proposition was for the first time clearly enunciated. This is done in cases where the proposition quoted is of importance as being a more or less adequate expression of the conditions of social production and exchange prevalent at the time, and quite irrespective of Marx's recognition, or otherwise, of its general validity. These quotations, therefore, supplement the text by a running commentary taken from the history of the science.
Our translation comprises the first book of the work only. But this first book is in a great measure a whole in itself, and has for twenty years ranked as an independent work. The second book, edited in German by me, in 1885, is decidedly incomplete without the third, which cannot be published before the end of 1887. When Book III. has been brought out in the original German, it will then be soon enough to think about preparing an English edition of both.
“Das Kapital” is often called, on the Continent, “the Bible of the working class.” That the conclusions arrived at in this work are daily more and more becoming the fundamental principles of the great working- class movement, not only in Germany and Switzerland, but in France, in Holland and Belgium, in America, and even in Italy and Spain, that everywhere the working class more and more recognises, in these conclusions, the most adequate expression of its condition and of its aspirations, nobody acquainted with that movement will deny. And in England, too, the theories of Marx, even at this moment, exercise a powerful influence upon the socialist movement which is spreading in the ranks of “cultured” people no less than in those of the working class. But that is not all. The time is rapidly approaching when a thorough examination of England's economic position will impose itself as an irresistible national necessity. The working of the industrial system of this country, impossible without a constant and rapid extension of production, and therefore of markets, is coming to a dead stop.
Free Trade has exhausted its resources; even Manchester doubts this its quondam economic gospel.7Foreign industry, rapidly developing, stares English production in the face everywhere, not only in protected, but also in neutral markets, and even on this side of the Channel. While the productive power increases in a geometric, the extension of markets proceeds at best in an arithmetic ratio. The decennial cycle of stagnation, prosperity, over-production and crisis, ever recurrent from 1825 to 1867, seems indeed to have run its course; but only to land us in the slough of despond of a permanent and chronic depression. The sighed for period of prosperity will not come; as often as we seem to perceive its heralding symptoms, so often do they again vanish into air. Meanwhile, each succeeding winter brings up afresh the great question, “what to do with the unemployed"; but while the number of the unemployed keeps swelling from year to year, there is nobody to answer that question; and we can almost calculate the moment when the unemployed losing patience will take their own fate into their own hands. Surely, at such a moment, the voice ought to be heard of a man whose whole theory is the result of a lifelong study of the economic history and condition of England, and whom that study led to the conclusion that, at least in Europe, England is the only country where the inevitable social revolution might be effected entirely by peaceful and legal means. He certainly never forgot to add that he hardly expected the English ruling classes to submit, without a “pro-slavery rebellion,” to this peaceful and legal revolution.
Frederick Engels.
November 5, 1886.
