
Capital: Volume 1
A Critique of Political Economy
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
3 months free
Buy for $24.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Derek Le Page
It can be said of very few books that the world was changed as a result of its publication - but this is certainly the case of Capital: A Critique of Political Economy by Karl Marx (1818-1883). Volume 1 appeared (in German) in 1867, and the two subsequent volumes appeared at later dates after the author's death - completed from extensive notes left by Marx himself.
Marx, famously writing in the Reading Room of the British Museum, set out to draw on theories of labour, money and economics developed by many key figures in previous centuries and then present a vivid picture of the effect of (as he saw it) the vicious exploitation of labour and the power-play and greed of that class of unprincipled businessmen - the capitalists. He starts by considering commodity, value and exchange. In doing so he looks at the basic processes involved in labour productivity and how it turns into excessive surplus value at the expense of the labourer himself. But do not think that that this is a dry analysis of the nuts and bolts of economics. Soon Marx, from extensive research, begins to outline the horrifying effect of the industrial revolution (for all its benefits) on the working man, woman and child, the blighting of their lives and slow, oh so slow, march of correcting Acts of Parliaments through the 19th century. These two threads - exploitation economics and the personal plight of the worker - continue to be developed side by side and intertwine with conclusions to become a truly powerful and emotional polemic.
Sometimes it becomes clear that his observations are hugely relevant to our 24 hour life, our gig economy and our international economy, with a frightening percentage of world wealth being held in a few hands. This is not an easy book but, especially in the hands of Derek Le Page, who has incorporated all the relevant footnotes (and they are extensive), it is a compelling listen. Whatever the nightmare of 20th century communism, to ignore this book is misjudge it. Marx said, 'Philosophers have previously tried to explain the world; our task is to change it'. And he meant it.
Translation: Samuel Moore and Edward Aveling.
Public Domain (P)2018 Ukemi Productions LtdListeners also enjoyed...




















People who viewed this also viewed...


















You have nothing to lose but your chains and a world to win! Workers of the World, Unite!
Das Kapital
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great recording
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Long-winded but wise
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
an amazing experience from start to finish
highly recommended essential reading for every person
brilliant!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
That historical materialism is true.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Hammers it home
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Very Informative Book
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
dense but insightful
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Beautiful narration
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Marx takes the labor theory of value as developed by Adam Smith and others and shows its implications for workers, managers, and owners - a worthy goal, and critical reading for anyone interested in economics regardless of your outlook.
No, Marx can't "prove" that labor is the basis of all economic value. That's because you can't prove ANY theory of value - you always wind up assuming what you set out to prove. All you can do is show the implications of starting from a particular theory.
What Marx shows is, IF you accept that labor is the core of economic value, here is how capitalism structures economic relations. He shows the source of profit (from the exploitation of productive labor, he famously concludes), how banks, insurance companies,and other non-productive firms fit into the picture, the role of management - and most of all, how working people are getting ripped off by owners, stock-holders, etc.
Big surprise, eh?
Basically, the labor theory of value makes sense to those of us who work for a wage or a fixed, contracted salary with no "stock options". For the managing and owning classes and those who dream of joining them, there are obvious incentives NOT to accept this theory. Suit yourself.
Have Marx's economic ideas ever been applied by "communist" countries? For the most part, no - so-called socialist countries have mainly applied totalitarian capitalist methods, with mixed results. Russia, China and the rest have been state-capitalist, not popular-socialist, systems.
We're still waiting for the world's first workers' democracy. The first steps include grasping how capital functions and how it structures our world. This recording is a welcome contribution.
Classic Economics Text - A Good Listen
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.