Marx's 'Das Kapital' cannot be put into a box marked economics. It is a
work of politics, history, economics, philosophy and even in places,
literature (yes Marx's style is that rich and evocative). Marx's 'Das
Kapital' For Beginners is an introduction to the Marxist critique of
capitalist production and its consequences for a whole range of social
activities such as politics, media, education and religion. 'Das
Kapital' is not a critique of a particular capitalist system in a
particular country at a particular time. Rather, Marx's aim was to
identify the essential features that define capitalism, in whatever
country it develops and in whatever historical period. For this reason,
'Das Kapital' is necessarily a fairly general, abstract analysis. As a
result, it can be fairly difficult to read and comprehend. At the same
time, understanding 'Das Kapital' is crucial for mastering Marx's
insights to capitalism.
Marx's 'Das Kapital' For Beginners offers an accessible path through
Marx's arguments and his key questions: What is commodity? Where does
wealth come from? What is value? What happens to work under capitalism?
Why is crisis part of capitalism's DNA? And what happens to our
consciousness, our very perceptions of reality and our ways of thinking
and feeling under capitalism? Understanding and learn from Marx's work
has taken on a fresh urgency as questions about the sustainability of
the capitalist system in today's global economy intensify.
