What do you think?
Rate this book
کاپیتال مارکس: راهنمایی برای خواندن سرمایه
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 What is a 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 learning 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.
Marx’s Das Kapital For Beginners offers an accessible path through Marx’s arguments and his key What is a 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 learning 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.
190 pages, Paperback
First published December 13, 2011
50 people are currently reading
303 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
September 19, 2020
I read this book after about 6 months of reading several other texts regarding macroeconomics and neo-Marxist thought, having spent a lifetime hearing about these ideas but really not understanding either how the economy functions nor how markets are created, etc. This short exegesis of a huge work of Marx, and including snippets of ideas from some of his theories followers, made Marx’s complex analysis simpler to grasp and understand. I may need at least a second read, but author Wayne packs the findings of Marx in a coherent, readable way, and so I would recommend this book to those who want some basic understanding of Marx’s analytical breakdown of how capitalism and labor do and don’t work together, and how and why capitalism breaks down into regular-and expected- crises.
If you were like me and knew nothing about macroeconomics before starting your study of markets, debt, etc., I would recommend reading Yanis Varoufakis first, particularly his enjoyable (YES! Enjoyable) book on economics, Talking to My Daughter About Economics. If you like this book, move on to The Global Minotaur, then Debt by the late David Graeber, and maybe Stephanie Kelton’s Deficit Myth. Read and think,think and speak!
If you were like me and knew nothing about macroeconomics before starting your study of markets, debt, etc., I would recommend reading Yanis Varoufakis first, particularly his enjoyable (YES! Enjoyable) book on economics, Talking to My Daughter About Economics. If you like this book, move on to The Global Minotaur, then Debt by the late David Graeber, and maybe Stephanie Kelton’s Deficit Myth. Read and think,think and speak!
March 9, 2023
"Hızlı Yaşam denen evrensel çılgınlığına karşı çıkmanın tek yolu, yavaş maddi zevklerin kararlı bir şekilde savunulmasıdır."
August 6, 2022
A powerful and sobering look at Captialism.
In the post Trump era, there's a tendency to look towards books on totalitarianism and racism as explainers of our current situation. And while helpful and important, a better understanding of Marx shows us the lens isn't zoomed out far enough.
(That, and combined with the fact that capital is often in bed with right wing authoritarianism, the question isn't so much "How did we get here?" But "Why didn't we get here sooner?")
In the post Trump era, there's a tendency to look towards books on totalitarianism and racism as explainers of our current situation. And while helpful and important, a better understanding of Marx shows us the lens isn't zoomed out far enough.
(That, and combined with the fact that capital is often in bed with right wing authoritarianism, the question isn't so much "How did we get here?" But "Why didn't we get here sooner?")
October 12, 2023
4 stars for the way the book is structured and how certain terms and ideas are explained
5 stars for Marx's ideas
5 stars for Marx's ideas
August 28, 2022
کتابی کوتاه برای ایدهای بزرگ، نرگس ایمانی به دقت این کتاب را ترجمه کرده بود و این را در خواندنی لذت بخش احساس خواهید کرد. این کتاب با تمام تلاشی که دارد بابت دوری از پیچیدگیها یکی از پیچیدهترین و نامسنجمترین ایدههایی که تا به امروز روی آن کار شده است را به ما معرفی میکند و در این تلاش بسیار موفق خواهد بود.
کتاب برای افرادی میخواهند بدانند که مارکس درباره چه چیزی حرف زده است و کنجکاوند و شبیه به من نمیتوانند به «سرمایه» رجوع کنند از بهترین گزینههاست. سادهست و حرفش را صریح میزند و از سر حوصله برای شما توضیح میدهد همه اینها در کنار اینکه این کتاب کوتاهی است و با توجه به اینکه تصویرگریهای بامزهای هم دارد از فضای جدی کتاب کاسته است و بیشتر از یک کلاس درس به یک روایت داستانی شبیه میشود. هر چند که در این روایت داستان گاهی باید بایستید و کمی سرعتتان را بکاهید مخصوصا بابت اینکه کتاب با نقل قولهایی که آوزده است به ظاهر پاره پاره شدهست اما این طور نیست، در این باره خود خانم نرگس ایمانی به خوبی توضیح میدهد و چیزی نیست که من بخواهم بابتش از امتیازش را بکاهم.
کتاب متشکل از هشت فصل است و در تمام فصلها و صفحههاتی که میخواند خانم وین زبان ساده و داستانیطور خود را از دست نمیدهد و حتی نقلقولی که ممکن است گیج کننده باشد را هم توضیح مختصری میدهد. و بله، کتابی است که حتما به دیگران پیشنهادش خواهم داد مخصوصا بچههایی که ترمهای اول هستند یا اواخر دبیرستان و یا شبیه به بعضی از دوستهام تنها کنجکاوی محضی نسبت به مارکس و ایدهاش دارند.
کتاب برای افرادی میخواهند بدانند که مارکس درباره چه چیزی حرف زده است و کنجکاوند و شبیه به من نمیتوانند به «سرمایه» رجوع کنند از بهترین گزینههاست. سادهست و حرفش را صریح میزند و از سر حوصله برای شما توضیح میدهد همه اینها در کنار اینکه این کتاب کوتاهی است و با توجه به اینکه تصویرگریهای بامزهای هم دارد از فضای جدی کتاب کاسته است و بیشتر از یک کلاس درس به یک روایت داستانی شبیه میشود. هر چند که در این روایت داستان گاهی باید بایستید و کمی سرعتتان را بکاهید مخصوصا بابت اینکه کتاب با نقل قولهایی که آوزده است به ظاهر پاره پاره شدهست اما این طور نیست، در این باره خود خانم نرگس ایمانی به خوبی توضیح میدهد و چیزی نیست که من بخواهم بابتش از امتیازش را بکاهم.
کتاب متشکل از هشت فصل است و در تمام فصلها و صفحههاتی که میخواند خانم وین زبان ساده و داستانیطور خود را از دست نمیدهد و حتی نقلقولی که ممکن است گیج کننده باشد را هم توضیح مختصری میدهد. و بله، کتابی است که حتما به دیگران پیشنهادش خواهم داد مخصوصا بچههایی که ترمهای اول هستند یا اواخر دبیرستان و یا شبیه به بعضی از دوستهام تنها کنجکاوی محضی نسبت به مارکس و ایدهاش دارند.
March 17, 2021
A quick understandable introduction to the book which provides concrete examples and context drawn from various sources to explain the key ideas. Thoroughly enjoyed it!
August 25, 2025
While Marx’s Economic Manuscripts provide important insights, they cannot be fully understood without the broader context of Marx’s and Engels’s other works, as well as Lenin’s later contributions. For readers without a background in political economy, Das Kapital can initially appear opaque. Wayne and Choi’s abridgment, however, succeeds in condensing Marx’s arguments into 154 pages that are dense yet accessible. Das Kapital itself was an extraordinarily ambitious undertaking: Marx planned six volumes but completed only three, the final of which was published posthumously by his collaborator Friedrich Engels.
Much contemporary anti-capitalist discourse remains at the level of moral proclamation—“capitalism is bad”—without advancing beyond a superficial critique. Marx’s analysis differs fundamentally, for it acknowledges capitalism’s immense technological and productive achievements. Yet these very achievements render capitalism’s eventual supersession both necessary and possible: necessary because capitalist social relations obstruct the realization of productive potential, and possible because modern productive forces contain the capacity to abolish scarcity, deprivation, and inequality.
Marx did not intend Das Kapital to offer prescriptive visions of a post-capitalist society, famously rejecting “recipes for the cook-shops of the future.” Nevertheless, guiding principles for a society beyond capitalism may be inferred from his critique. To reduce Das Kapital to mere “economic theory” is to misunderstand its scope; it is a work of political economy, rooted in a Hegelian conception of historical development. Given the extensive debates it has generated for over a century, its central arguments need not be rehearsed here.
No single text can exhaust the complexities of Marxism. A deeper engagement with political economy requires familiarity with David Ricardo and Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, whose writings provided essential foundations for Marx’s critique. Ultimately, Marx was one theorist of the nineteenth century; the expansion and application of his ideas remain collective and historical tasks.
For readers new to Marx, Wayne and Choi’s guide offers a valuable point of entry. Marx did not regard capitalism as a permanent mode of production. Like feudalism before it, capitalism is a historically specific stage. The decisive question, therefore, is whether humanity can consciously direct its transition to what follows? If Marx’s alternative appears utopian, it is no more so than the belief that capitalism can be fundamentally reformed, and far less utopian than imagining capitalism possesses a long and stable future. Should it endure, that future will not be a happy one,neither for the system itself nor for those who live under it.
Much contemporary anti-capitalist discourse remains at the level of moral proclamation—“capitalism is bad”—without advancing beyond a superficial critique. Marx’s analysis differs fundamentally, for it acknowledges capitalism’s immense technological and productive achievements. Yet these very achievements render capitalism’s eventual supersession both necessary and possible: necessary because capitalist social relations obstruct the realization of productive potential, and possible because modern productive forces contain the capacity to abolish scarcity, deprivation, and inequality.
Marx did not intend Das Kapital to offer prescriptive visions of a post-capitalist society, famously rejecting “recipes for the cook-shops of the future.” Nevertheless, guiding principles for a society beyond capitalism may be inferred from his critique. To reduce Das Kapital to mere “economic theory” is to misunderstand its scope; it is a work of political economy, rooted in a Hegelian conception of historical development. Given the extensive debates it has generated for over a century, its central arguments need not be rehearsed here.
No single text can exhaust the complexities of Marxism. A deeper engagement with political economy requires familiarity with David Ricardo and Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, whose writings provided essential foundations for Marx’s critique. Ultimately, Marx was one theorist of the nineteenth century; the expansion and application of his ideas remain collective and historical tasks.
For readers new to Marx, Wayne and Choi’s guide offers a valuable point of entry. Marx did not regard capitalism as a permanent mode of production. Like feudalism before it, capitalism is a historically specific stage. The decisive question, therefore, is whether humanity can consciously direct its transition to what follows? If Marx’s alternative appears utopian, it is no more so than the belief that capitalism can be fundamentally reformed, and far less utopian than imagining capitalism possesses a long and stable future. Should it endure, that future will not be a happy one,neither for the system itself nor for those who live under it.
July 11, 2024
A USEFUL "BEGINNER'S INTRODUCTION" TO MARX'S MAJOR WORK
In case you're new to them, the "For Beginners" Documentary Comic Books by Pantheon were what existed before the "For Dummies" and "Complete Idiot" book series came into being. Profusely illustrated (more like a "graphic novel" than a "comic book"), they actually contained pretty reliable---and clearly-presented---information.
The text of this 1982 book was written by David Smith, who has a degree in Economics from UC Berkeley; the illustrations were by a British artist named Phil Evans (who also illustrated TROTSKY FOR BEGINNERS). The book begins with biographical information; it also includes "A Marxist Dictionary" at the back of the book, to aid with the new terminology.
The orientation of the authors is clear: for example, the "evil capitalist" protagonist is named "Moneybags," and it is pointed out that he is "not a direct producer, but ... a MONEY-OWNER... He spends money to get money." (Pg. 73) Moneybags is "Sly as a fox, and no angel---with no mercy in his heart, and his heart in his wallet" (pg. 156), and he freely uses the threat of "outsourcing" (as we would now call it), "forcing better paid workers to moderate their wage demands (if they desire to keep their jobs)." (Pg. 156)
They also refer to the selling of labour-power as "'free choice' in name only." (Pg. 111)
They end with a positive message: "workers can seek not merely to elevate the value of labour-power, but to abolish its status as a value... real working people---may unite for democratic, nationless, sexually equal cooperative production, production for shared use. This would be communism in the authentic sense of the world... producing for use, not exchange and profit." (Pg. 163)
This book, as well as all others in this line (e.g., Marx for Beginners) is a very "user-friendly" way to learn some basics about Marxian economics.
In case you're new to them, the "For Beginners" Documentary Comic Books by Pantheon were what existed before the "For Dummies" and "Complete Idiot" book series came into being. Profusely illustrated (more like a "graphic novel" than a "comic book"), they actually contained pretty reliable---and clearly-presented---information.
The text of this 1982 book was written by David Smith, who has a degree in Economics from UC Berkeley; the illustrations were by a British artist named Phil Evans (who also illustrated TROTSKY FOR BEGINNERS). The book begins with biographical information; it also includes "A Marxist Dictionary" at the back of the book, to aid with the new terminology.
The orientation of the authors is clear: for example, the "evil capitalist" protagonist is named "Moneybags," and it is pointed out that he is "not a direct producer, but ... a MONEY-OWNER... He spends money to get money." (Pg. 73) Moneybags is "Sly as a fox, and no angel---with no mercy in his heart, and his heart in his wallet" (pg. 156), and he freely uses the threat of "outsourcing" (as we would now call it), "forcing better paid workers to moderate their wage demands (if they desire to keep their jobs)." (Pg. 156)
They also refer to the selling of labour-power as "'free choice' in name only." (Pg. 111)
They end with a positive message: "workers can seek not merely to elevate the value of labour-power, but to abolish its status as a value... real working people---may unite for democratic, nationless, sexually equal cooperative production, production for shared use. This would be communism in the authentic sense of the world... producing for use, not exchange and profit." (Pg. 163)
This book, as well as all others in this line (e.g., Marx for Beginners) is a very "user-friendly" way to learn some basics about Marxian economics.
March 17, 2021
Small but incredibly dense big-ideas book chock full of thought-provoking information. Every page is a gem, and making the mighty Das Kapital accessible to an uninitiated audience is a worthy goal. However, the writing is also messy and at times incoherent. The narration can flow poorly - the author likes to go on prolonged tangents just as he's about to explain a key topic. Lots of concepts are not fully explained, or explained poorly, or rely on the reader making inferences rather than explicating it clearly, which is a big problem because every subsequent chapter builds on the conceptual foundation laid by the previous one; you can't be missing bricks. I found I had to put in a ton of work just to understand what the author was saying, let alone draw a deep theoretical understanding from the book. But overall, if you're willing to put in the work, you can learn a ton from this text.
November 15, 2025
Labor intensification – process by which management creates new policies to make work more strenuous, even without adding more hours to the work day
Specialization of workers mean repetitive tasks. Switching tasks wastes time (no money for $), so repeating the same task means less time is wasted by the laborer
Competition can actually force companies to keep their wages lower in order to compete
A capitalist wants to keep his own wages low, but wants *other* capitalists to have high wages so that their laborers can buy more of their stuff. This leads to a tragedy of the commons / free rider problem for the capitalist
More production won’t solve anything – we already have enough food, housing, H20, etc
The rich can withstand recessions, and use their resources to buy up the assets and capital of poorer individuals who need to sell to survive
Specialization of workers mean repetitive tasks. Switching tasks wastes time (no money for $), so repeating the same task means less time is wasted by the laborer
Competition can actually force companies to keep their wages lower in order to compete
A capitalist wants to keep his own wages low, but wants *other* capitalists to have high wages so that their laborers can buy more of their stuff. This leads to a tragedy of the commons / free rider problem for the capitalist
More production won’t solve anything – we already have enough food, housing, H20, etc
The rich can withstand recessions, and use their resources to buy up the assets and capital of poorer individuals who need to sell to survive
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 7, 2021
It’s a fantastic intro to the commodity form, the labor theory of value, and what capital is as well as how it works! I’ve recommended it to multiple peers and for people who want a more well rounded understanding of Marxist economics but didn’t get enough out of works like “Wage, Labor, and Capital,” you’ll come out with a much better understanding of how a capitalist economy functions.
(And as a visual learner, the illustrations are helpful at times.)
(And as a visual learner, the illustrations are helpful at times.)
May 14, 2021
I love it! Breaking up the text with illustrations (some a bit cheesy), using varying fonts and sizes, and using quotes and (relatively) current statistics make the text very accessible and a great tool for working with people who struggle to engage with Marx's work directly. I'll definitely use this text when explaining marxist critique of capital to others. I wish I had this text with me in my economics class.
August 23, 2022
It ain't Ben Fine's Capital nor David Harvey's Companion, but it does a pretty good job all around the 3 volumes of Das Kapital (and some other Marx's texts). I'd even recommend reading this first rather than Harvey's or Fine's work.
Synthetic and all around easy-to-read.
Synthetic and all around easy-to-read.
February 16, 2025
Does a good work at summarizing the main points and presenting them to the reader. Nice that it also presents little snippets from the original and has a lot of quotes from famous and historically important people.
November 16, 2016
İngilizcesi ağır geldi. Daha önceden hiç düşünmediğim şekilde ekonomiye bakmamı sağladı. Bundan dolayı bu kitabı sevdim.
July 11, 2018
Excellent introduction to a difficult work of philosophy, political science and economy. The definition of terms was wonderfully helpful.
June 13, 2019
A great introduction to the basic concepts of Marx's Das Kapital.
October 7, 2019
The book starts for beginners and then ascends to a higher level for no beginners and uses advanced language and terms that doesn’t suit at all, for explaining higher terms and ideologies
November 28, 2019
Great introduction to Das Kapital. Very illuminating.
August 24, 2020
Even a simplified version is difficult to follow, I wonder how hard it would be to understand the actual text without a teacher
April 13, 2021
Handbook for everyone
Read
May 2, 2024Good introduction to Capital with a nice explanation of Marx's thought. The chapter on value is particularly illuminating.
July 25, 2015
Aslında okuduğum kitap bu mu emin değilim. Çünkü ben yazılı versiyonunu okudum, buysa çizgi roman olabilir.
Marksizm'e giriş için aslında yararlı bir kitap. Ne kadar kapital bir iktisat kitabıdır iktisat bilmeden anlaşılmaz dense de bu kitapta da yer yer anlaşılmayan yerler var. Belki çeviri kalitesindendir, bilmiyorum. Bu kitabın marksist bakış açısıyla yazıldığını ve tamamen nesnel olmadığını da not düşmek isterim.
Marksizm'e giriş için aslında yararlı bir kitap. Ne kadar kapital bir iktisat kitabıdır iktisat bilmeden anlaşılmaz dense de bu kitapta da yer yer anlaşılmayan yerler var. Belki çeviri kalitesindendir, bilmiyorum. Bu kitabın marksist bakış açısıyla yazıldığını ve tamamen nesnel olmadığını da not düşmek isterim.
December 3, 2012
I suspect that Wayne has simplified the original excessively, but I can still infer the key points Marx had made: how labour is the central commodity & that capitalists(Big Money) exploit this for a concealed winfall(aka laborer unknowingly works part of his labour for free)
August 24, 2013
Capitalism clearly has weaknesses and contradictions. It does not care about people, only profits. Karl Marx helps lay out why there is so much inequality, exploitation and crisis under capitalism, and at the same time he offers solutions.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews