Capital: The Communist Manifesto and Other Writings

by Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin

Excerpts from Marx's principal works dealing with the theories of historical materialism and revolution, introduced by an analysis of his total philosophy

Genres: Philosophy, Economics, Nonfiction, Politics

Hardcover

Published June 1, 1932

About the author

With the help of Friedrich Engels, German philosopher and revolutionary Karl Marx wrote The Communist Manifesto (1848) and Das Kapital (1867-1894), works, which explain historical development in terms of the interaction of contradictory economic forces, form many regimes, and profoundly influenced the social sciences.

German social theorist Friedrich Engels collaborated with Karl Marx on The Communist Manifesto in 1848 and on numerous other works.

Mikhail Mikhailovich Bakhtin in London opposed Communism of Karl Marx with his antithetical anarchy.

Works of Jacques Martin Barzun include Darwin, Marx, Wagner (1941).

The Prussian kingdom introduced a prohibition on Jews, practicing law; in response, a man converted to Protestantism and shortly afterward fathered Karl Marx.

Marx began co-operating with Bruno Bauer on editing Philosophy of Religion of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (see Democritus and Epicurus), doctoral thesis, also engaged Marx, who completed it in 1841. People described the controversial essay as "a daring and original piece... in which Marx set out to show that theology must yield to the superior wisdom." Marx decided to submit his thesis not to the particularly conservative professors at the University of Berlin but instead to the more liberal faculty of University of Jena, which for his contributed key theory awarded his Philosophiae Doctor in April 1841. Marx and Bauer, both atheists, in March 1841 began plans for a journal, entitled Archiv des Atheismus (Atheistic Archives), which never came to fruition.

Marx edited the newspaper Vorwärts! in 1844 in Paris. The urging of the Prussian government from France banished and expelled Marx in absentia; he then studied in Brussels. He joined the league in 1847 and published.

Marx participated the failure of 1848 and afterward eventually wound in London. Marx, a foreigner, corresponded for several publications of United States.
He came in three volumes. Marx organized the International and the social democratic party.

Marx in a letter to C. Schmidt once quipped, "All I know is that I am not a Marxist," as Warren Allen Smith related in Who's Who in Hell .

People describe Marx, who most figured among humans. They typically cite Marx with Émile Durkheim and Max Weber, the principal modern architects.

Bertrand Russell later remarked of non-religious Marx, "His belief that there is a cosmic ... called dialectical materialism, which governs ... independently of human volitions, is mere mythology" ( Portraits from Memory , 1956).

More: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Marx
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/marx/
http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bi...
http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/...
http://www.historyguide.org/intellect...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic...
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/...
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/t...

Reviews

[Patrick Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Almost 40% of Gen Z and Millenials think the Communist Manifesto, written by Karl Marx, the father of Marxism, is a better defense of freedom and equality than the Declaration of Independence." -Rep. Maria Salazar, on the removal of Ilhan Omar from the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, 2/2/23

While I doubt the validity of that statement, it is indicative of the institutional trepidation towards anything resembling Marxism/Socialism/Communism in the U.S. government, along with the recent House Congressional Resolution 9, "Denouncing the horrors of socialism," notably affirmed by Minority Democrat leader, and alphabet enthusiast , Hakeem Jefferies. It is also indicative of an undeniable fervor expressed by large swathes of younger Americans for what they consider socially just, discourse which has been most prominent, to me, since 2016 and the candidacy of Bernie Sanders, though I hardly think it is as pervasive as the quote above claims. Despite all the fears and hopes surrounding Marxism, I still think it's fair to say that most average Americans haven't read much of his work beyond the Manifesto, if that, not to mention the work of other political economists, sociologists, etc. in his vein. If that is ever to change, I think this collection is a pretty good reference point, although it excludes much detail on Marx's view of dialectical materialism.

The heavily abridged "Capital" makes up most of this edition, including heavily edited sections of all three volumes spliced together for a relatively cohesive whole. As far as a general understanding of the theories of Labour-Value, Surplus Value, Exchange Value and Value in Use etc. go, I think this was a pretty good glimpse of the work in totality. Dense, at times almost indecipherable to me due to the wordy, variable-based descriptions of formulae, but very educational and worthwhile to any member of an anti or pro-Marxist school of thought.

The Communist Manifesto is very short and should be part of any curriculum in social science, for it's historical and social impact alone. It is ripe for dissection and discussion today more than ever, and frankly the idea of comparing the Manifesto to the Declaration of Independence could actually be a great exercise in critical thought.

Finally, The Civil War in France is a brief historical account of the Paris Commune, including an introduction written by Engels. It is a very interesting, seldom discussed aspect of French history (at least in comparison to the revolution and Napoleon), and this section is well-worth reading on its own.

[Iulia Dorobantu · Rating 4 out of 5]

An absolutely horrifying and deeply unsettling work. The manifesto lays out a vision I find completely repulsive — glorifying class struggle, erasing individuality, and advocating for the destruction of private property. I profoundly disagree with almost every word, but there's no denying its power, clarity, and historical impact. A chilling reminder of how dangerous ideas can be.

[James Henderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was one of many books I read as part of my education n economic history. In it Marx describes his economic point of view which, surprising to me at the time, agreed with Adam Smith on at least one point. They both shared the "labor theory of value" which simply put argues that the value or cost of an item is based on the amount of labor necessary to produce it. This was supplanted by the subjective theory of value in the nineteenth-century which argues that the value of any item is determined by the value the consumer is willing to place on it. This in turn is interrelated with the scarcity of the item. Beyond this similarity the views of Marx departed from those of Smith. I was not impressed with theses views on my first reading in college and subsequent reading reaffirmed the arbitrariness and contradictory nature of much of Marx's work.

[James Violand · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very influential book until practicality brought Communism down to earth. Now, very dated and hardly worth the effort. Marx's construct falls when history shows the imposition of communism by a few in backward countries, not the vibrant capitalistic societies he had envisioned.

[R.K. Cowles · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars