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A Guide to Marxian Political Economy: What Kind of a Social System Is Capitalism?
This textbook offers a comprehensive guide to the systematic structure of capitalism, while at the same time introducing readers to all three volumes of Marx’s Capital. Based on his extensive expertise on Marx’s critique of political economy, the author reveals the specific structure of production in capitalist societies and explicates what sets this system apart from other modes of production. Marx’s political economy is explained in a systematic and easy-to-understand manner, using numerous illustrative diagrams to complement the text. This textbook will appeal to all students and scholars looking for a more comprehensive, systematic and theoretical explanation of capitalism, equipping them with a solid theoretical understanding of its core structure.
519 pages, Hardcover
Published March 16, 2018
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July 18, 2024
A chapter-by-chapter summarizing of the 3 volumes of Capital, with diagrams and modern-day examples to help illustrate concepts. It was written in Japan and reproduces Japanese propaganda: it implies that the reforms of Japan & other wealthy nations was solely due to working-class struggle, which downplays the roles of colonialism & exploitation of impoverished countries.
There was one modern-day example that leads to a misinterpretation: Otani lumps many service sector workers (such as artists & entertainers) in with lawyers and cops as examples of jobs that don't produce national income (eg they're unproductive workers). But this is an over-simplification: Marx in one of his unpublished manuscripts explicitly states singers are productive workers if they valorize capital, source below. This mistake likely happened because in Marx's time, most of these workers were self-employed or hired by individuals and thus didn't valorize capital. Still, if you take these limits in mind, it's an amazing resource and a good intro to Marxism. If Otani educates you enough to where you can point out his own mistakes, then he's done you a great service.
source: https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx...
There was one modern-day example that leads to a misinterpretation: Otani lumps many service sector workers (such as artists & entertainers) in with lawyers and cops as examples of jobs that don't produce national income (eg they're unproductive workers). But this is an over-simplification: Marx in one of his unpublished manuscripts explicitly states singers are productive workers if they valorize capital, source below. This mistake likely happened because in Marx's time, most of these workers were self-employed or hired by individuals and thus didn't valorize capital. Still, if you take these limits in mind, it's an amazing resource and a good intro to Marxism. If Otani educates you enough to where you can point out his own mistakes, then he's done you a great service.
source: https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx...
Displaying 1 of 1 review