Product Description

Written during the winter of 1857-8, the Grundrisse was considered by Marx to be the first scientific elaboration of communist theory. A collection of seven notebooks on capital and money, it both develops the arguments outlined in the Communist Manifesto (1848) and explores the themes and theses that were to dominate his great later work Capital. Here, for the first time, Marx set out his own version of Hegel’s dialectics and developed his mature views on labour, surplus value and profit, offering many fresh insights into alienation, automation and the dangers of capitalist society. Yet while the theories in Grundrisse make it a vital precursor to Capital, it also provides invaluable descriptions of Marx’s wider-ranging philosophy, making it a unique insight into his beliefs and hopes for the foundation of a communist state.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #78829 in Books
• Published on: 2005-11-24
• Original language: German
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 912 pages

About the Author
Karl Marx (1818-1883). The core of Marx's economic analysis found early expression in the Ökonomisch-philosophische Manuskripte aus dem Jahre 1844 (Economic and Political Manuscripts of 1844) (1844). There, Marx argued that the conditions of modern industrial societies invariably result in the estrangement (or alienation) of workers from their own labor. In his review of a Bruno Baier book, On the Jewish Question (1844), Marx decried the lingering influence of religion over politics and proposed a revolutionary re-structuring of European society. Much later, Marx undertook a systematic explanation of his economic theories in Das Kapital (Capital) (1867-95) and Theorien über den Mehrwert (Theory of Surplus Value) (1862).

Customer Reviews

Why Marx cannot rest in Highgate
Did Marx simply set "Hegel on his head" or did his mature dialectic truly address his youthful thesis: " all mysteries that lead to mysticism find their solution in material practice and the rational comprehension thereof".

Find out here in the notes that produced Capital Volume 1.

Marx is not dead: substitute Korea for Manchester. The Grundrisse reads like intellectual tit-bits: it infuriates and engrosses in equal measure.

At heart it is still a philosophical anthropology

and it's humanism remains long after it's economism has been (posthumously) demoished.

Recommended for anyone living in America.

Quite amazing, if a little bit difficult.
In this book Marx describes many facets of economics, money, and capital and capitalism. Certain parts very well describe and explain the anatomy of the credit crunch - an amazing 150 years after writing the book and it is still accurate. He based his ideas on a thorough study of the economic credit crisis of 1857-8.
Grundrisse is actually Marx's rough note books, written as research for Das Capital, never intended for publication.
So is not polished in its form, and it is best to read various sections seperately, and best if you have a guide to find the most relevant sections.
I do like his tone though. In one bit, after having disproved some professor who is denying the tendency of the rate of profit to fall,he simply writes, "This rubbish is herewith disposed of".
A mighty mind at work.