Product Description

A classic of early modernism, Capital combines vivid historical detail with economic analysis to produce a bitter denunciation of mid-Victorian capitalist society. It has also proved to be the most influential work in social science in the twentieth century; Marx did for social science what Darwin had done for biology. Millions of readers this century have treated Capital as a sacred text, subjecting it to as many different interpretations as the bible itself. No mere work of dry economics, Marx's great work depicts the unfolding of industrial capitalism as a tragic drama - with a message which has lost none of its relevance today. This is the only abridged edition to take account of the whole of Capital. It offers virtually all of Volume 1, which Marx himself published in 1867, excerpts from a new translation of `The Result of the Immediate Process of Production', and a selection of key chapters from Volume 3, which Engels published in 1895.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #317475 in Books
• Published on: 1999-09-02
• Format: Abridged
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 544 pages

Customer Reviews

Misunderstood masterpiece
Despite the vast numbers of people who have read (or claim to have read!) this book, there is still no real understanding of what it says. In other reviews, and in the books of many right-wing thinkers, the book is criticised for the laws that Marx claimed to have discovered, such as the ever-decreasing law of profit, the law of decreasing wages (although in actual fact Marx said the wages of workers would fall relative to that of capitalists, which is undeniable) and the labour theory of value. However, the book does not stand or fall on these laws, so whether they are correct or not is, to some degree, irrelevant. Marx wrote a melo-drama, an economic parody (Francis Wheen). He points out the absurdity of the system, using irony (the capitalist, 'mr moneybags') and so on. Yes, Marx was too enthralled by science, but so was every 19th century thinker (incl. Adam Smith who agreed with the labour theory of value). The book is a MUST read, not for the accuracy of its scientific laws necessarily but for its brilliant overview of capitalism and its thundering criticism of it, which is still very relevant today in a world where 2 billion people live on less than $2 per day and where crippling debt make any chance of poorer countries working their way out of poverty impossible.

A must read
This book has greatly changed the way I look at the world. It is a captivating and thought provoking read. I think what capitalism is, is hard to define, but this book should give the reader a real feel for what it is, and for why this book changed the world. Marx's intellect is razor sharp! I didn't find it an easy read; It required concentration, and I often had to re-read sections. To anyone who is about to read the book I would suggest making notes during the first section where Marx defines a lot of terminology. It's by far the best book I have read.

A revolutionary approach to political economies
This piece of work is one of Marx's greatest works, in this book Karl Marx renders the world in a different light . Marx lays the concept of the dialectic on a potent historical foundation, at a time when mass poverty and rapid industrialisation was commonplace. Marx exlains and presents the multifarious bourgeouise injustices that are often accepted and viewed as normal by the proletarian community. Marx also portrays a system of exploitation and alienation that has prevailed under bourgeouise rule, which aims to divide society into frail groups, as oppossed to revolutionary political movements.However, unlike other philosophers, Karl Marx offers a systematic method of emancipation, by reflecting vivid images of violent revolution, proletarian overthrow of the bourgeouise state, temporary "proletarian dictatorship" and finally resulting in the state "withering" away, and a society of classlessness emerging. Marx's writing in this book,as in all his books, is extremely profound. This book should be seen as the main meal and the "Communist Manifesto" should be consumed as the desert, as both books fantastically complement each other. This book is a MUST read for all those who have even the slightest interest in the world of economics or politics.