[Book] Understanding Marx’s Capital: A reader’s guide

Marx's Capital was a book that revolutionised political economy and for the first time opened our eyes to the real workings of capitalism. It was, however, met with a wall of silence from the mainstream economists and the establishment. Despite this, Capital became regarded in the workers' movement as the Bible of the working class.

The aim of this book, written by authors from the International Marxist Tendency, is to help guide readers through the pages of volume one of Capital; to bring out the main themes and ideas contained within it; and to discuss the relevance of this great Marxist classic in terms of understanding the crisis-ridden world around us today - and, most importantly, how we can radically transform it.

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction: the making of Marx’s Capital

Introduction: Marxism in Our Time

1) Chapter 1: The Commodity

2) Chapters 2-3: Money

3) Chapters 4-8: Surplus-value

4) Chapters 9-11: Exploitation

5) Chapters 12-14: Productivity, Co-operation, and the Division of Labour

6) Chapter 15: The Machine

7) Chapters 16-22: Wages

8) Chapters 23-25: Accumulation

9) Chapters 26-33: The Origins of Capitalism

Appendix 1: The Organic Crisis of Capitalism

Appendix 2: ‘Underconsumption’ and the Marxist Theory of Crisis

Appendix 3: The Tendency of the Rate of Profit to Fall

Glossary