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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.
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FOR a book which has a reputation for length and difficulty, Capital is an unlikely best seller. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
FOR a book which has a reputation for length and difficulty, Capital is an unlikely best seller. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
33 of 36 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Much has obviously been said of this work! Humanist-Marxists say it is too mechanistic whilst analytic Marxists try to ignore the Dickensian passages which describe working conditions. In truth this book, in true Marxian style is the 'dialectical' synthesis of basically all that went before. Marx forswears many of the grinding debates with other intellectuals and revolutionaries of the time in favour of a 'capitalism for dummies style'. Your hand is held as you progress from simple 'laws', each of which is taken to the limit of its logic before the next idea is broached.
In fact what is striking is how pertinent this book is even today. Granted things have moved on, and it is no longer 'grim up north' but even a quick consideration makes one realise how our service-industry-fueled economy still holds to most of the same processes as Marx noted all those years ago. Beaudrillard claimed Marx was superseded because consumption has now trumped production, but a read of Capital and a bit of thought soon puts that idea to rest.
It is worth ignoring the suggestions that The German Ideology is a good introduction to Marx, or that Capital is some advanced monolith. It is large, but completely readable; just as readable as Manifesto, only longer. Despite spawning abstruse French theorists, Russian and Chinese revolutions and analysis second only in quantity to the Bible there is nothing to be intimidated about.
In fact what is striking is how pertinent this book is even today. Granted things have moved on, and it is no longer 'grim up north' but even a quick consideration makes one realise how our service-industry-fueled economy still holds to most of the same processes as Marx noted all those years ago. Beaudrillard claimed Marx was superseded because consumption has now trumped production, but a read of Capital and a bit of thought soon puts that idea to rest.
It is worth ignoring the suggestions that The German Ideology is a good introduction to Marx, or that Capital is some advanced monolith. It is large, but completely readable; just as readable as Manifesto, only longer. Despite spawning abstruse French theorists, Russian and Chinese revolutions and analysis second only in quantity to the Bible there is nothing to be intimidated about.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This abridgement of Capital is very well written (I prefer it to the Penguin Classics translation) and a helpful introduction, BUT (and it's a significant but!) is missing many important footnotes and sections from the full text. Marx's theoretical framework is all there, as far as I can judge, but many of the important historical references have been edited out. This edition is far slimmer and travel-friendly as a result, but loses some of Marx's colour.
For readers buying a copy of Capital to read alongside David Harvey's "A Companion to Marx's Capital" or his phenomenal free lectures I would strongly recommend that you buy the Penguin (unabridged) edition - or both! This was the only version available in my local bookshop when I started and I was desperate to get going so I bit the bullet, with the result that I've spent several hours reading missing sections on a .pdf version of the full text.
In any format, Capital makes for fascinating and world-view affecting reading. Highly recommended.
For readers buying a copy of Capital to read alongside David Harvey's "A Companion to Marx's Capital" or his phenomenal free lectures I would strongly recommend that you buy the Penguin (unabridged) edition - or both! This was the only version available in my local bookshop when I started and I was desperate to get going so I bit the bullet, with the result that I've spent several hours reading missing sections on a .pdf version of the full text.
In any format, Capital makes for fascinating and world-view affecting reading. Highly recommended.
10 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Tried reading this when I was an idealistic young socialist in the 60's. Found it very difficult then so almost a lifetime later I read it again but this time going for the abridged version.
Still not easy going for a prol like me and should really be read when you are wide awake, not late at night in bed. Many book dicussion groups use Karl's classic as a study topic so that might be one avenue to explore if your economics and Marxism are not up to speed.
Second time around made a whole lot more sense, but in my case he is preaching to the already converted. In light of the recent/current capitalist financial crisis the bearded one does forecast and put many things into a new perspective, enlightening many would claim!
Read it, you might learn something and it might just change your life?
Still not easy going for a prol like me and should really be read when you are wide awake, not late at night in bed. Many book dicussion groups use Karl's classic as a study topic so that might be one avenue to explore if your economics and Marxism are not up to speed.
Second time around made a whole lot more sense, but in my case he is preaching to the already converted. In light of the recent/current capitalist financial crisis the bearded one does forecast and put many things into a new perspective, enlightening many would claim!
Read it, you might learn something and it might just change your life?
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Historically interesting, economically worthless
Interesting from a historical point of view. Also interesting to understand where the communist/socialist lines of thought get the majority of their inspiration from (although Marx... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Frank Daelemans
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This edition of "Capital" contains the original English translation of Volume One - and it is an excellent translation which I prefer to the one in the Penguin edition. Read more
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Ignore Marx; Read Engels
Marxism is often held out to be the opposite of Capitalism. However, upon reading this mighty attempt at an economic sociology you will conclude that, since its subject is labour... Read more
Published on 23 May 2010 by Spin
Straight to the point, a master piece
It tells you what you need to know in the right order. its simple but yet shows you the complicity of economics. Read more
Published on 17 April 2009 by Derek Hughes
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