First published in 1932. In this book, a well-known German authority on economics analyzes the present world situation and points the way out. His contention is that reparations are not in themselves enough to account for the crisis, which is rather due to the burden of interest that is being paid one way and another on the money sunk unproductively in the World War.
In 1848 a wave of revolutions broke over Europe. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, in the Communist Manifesto, urged the workers of all countries to unite. But the movement collapsed, and Marx became an exile in London, where he spent the next twenty years developing his great critique of the capitalist system. His monumental Capital was constructed as a scientific study of the political economy, but its driving force was Marx's sense of the burning injustices imposed on the working classes by the Industrial Revolution, and their alienation from the society that their labour made possible. Today, with the rich western countries relying increasingly on low-wage production in the Third World and the instability of the capitalist banking system, many features of Marx's analysis remain disturbingly relevant.
The radical geographer guides us through the classic text of political economy In recent years, we have witnessed a surge of interest in Marx’s work in an effort to understand the origins of our current political and economic crisis. For nearly forty years, David Harvey has written and lectured on Capital, becoming one of the world’s foremost Marx scholars. Based on his recent lectures, this current volume—finally bringing together his guides to volumes I, II and much of III—presents this depth of learning to a broader audience, guiding first-time readers through a fascinating and deeply rewarding text. A Companion to Marx’s Capital offers fresh, original, and sometimes critical interpretations of a book that changed the course of history and, as Harvey intimates, may do so again.
A lively, accessible, and timely guide to Marxist economics for those who want to understand and dismantle the world of the 1%. Economists regularly promote Capitalism as the greatest system ever to grace the planet. With the same breath, they implore us to leave the job of understanding the magical powers of the market to the “experts.” Despite the efforts of these mainstream commentators to convince us otherwise, many of us have begun to question why this system has produced such vast inequality and wanton disregard for its own environmental destruction. This book offers answers to exactly these questions on their own terms: in the form of a radical economic theory. “Thier’s urgently needed book strips away jargon to make Marx’s essential work accessible to today’s diverse mass movements.” —Sarah Leonard, contributing editor to The Nation “A great book for proletarian chain-breaking.” —Rob Larson, author of Bit Tyrants: The Political Economy of Silicon Valley “Thier unpacks the mystery of capitalist inequality with lucid and accessible prose . . . . We will need books like A People’s Guide to help us make sense of the root causes of the financial crises that shape so many of our struggles today.” —Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, author of Race for Profit: How Banks and the Real Estate Industry Undermined Black Homeownership “Ranging from exploitation at work to the operations of modern finance, this book takes the reader through a fine-tuned introduction to Marx’s analysis of the modern economy . . . . Thier combines theoretical explanation with contemporary examples to illuminate the inner workings of capitalism . . . . Reminds us of the urgent need for alternatives to a crisis-ridden system.” —David McNally, author of Blood and Money
Mainstream economics ignores or distorts the most fundamental aspect of this reality: that the vast majority of people must, out of necessity, labor on behalf of others, transformed into nothing but a means to the end of maximum profits for their employers. The nature of the work we do and the conditions under which we do it profoundly shape our lives. And yet, both of these factors are peripheral to mainstream economics. By sweeping labor under the rug, mainstream economists hide the nature of capitalism, making it appear to be a system based upon equal exchange rather than exploitation inside every workplace.
