Das Kapital

Von Karl Marx

Karl Marx' "Das Kapital" ist ohne Zweifel eines der Schlüsselwerke der politischen Philosophie. Bis heute wird es kontrovers diskutiert, und immer wieder rücken seine Thesen ins Blickfeld einer breiten Öffentlichkeit. Weitgehend ungelöst scheinen demnach die Fragen, denen sich Marx in seiner scharfsichtigen Analyse widmet: Wie schafft es der Mensch, in einer kapitalistisch organisierten Gesellschaft die Zügel in der Hand zu behalten? Und was ist nötig, damit er hinter ihren offenbar rätselhaften Prozessen nicht gänzlich "verschwindet"? - Marx' Hauptwerk blieb Fragment. Der in dieser Ausgabe vollständig enthaltene erste Band, "Der Produktionsprozeß des Kapitals", ist der einzige von vier geplanten Bänden, den Marx in summa selbst verfaßt und herausgegeben hat. In ihm verdichtet sich, nach jahrzehntelangen Studien, seine gesamte politische Ökonomie.

• Sprache: Deutsch
• Herausgeber: Anaconda Verlag
• Erscheinungsdatum: 1. Juli 2013
• ISBN: 9783730690345

Karl Marx

Karl Marx (1818-1883) was a German philosopher, historian, political theorist, journalist and revolutionary socialist. Born in Prussia, he received his doctorate in philosophy at the University of Jena in Germany and became an ardent follower of German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. Marx was already producing political and social philosophic works when he met Friedrich Engels in Paris in 1844. The two became lifelong colleagues and soon collaborated on "The Communist Manifesto," which they published in London in 1848. Expelled from Belgium and Germany, Marx moved to London in 1849 where he continued organizing workers and produced (among other works) the foundational political document Das Kapital. A hugely influential and important political philosopher and social theorist, Marx died stateless in 1883 and was buried in Highgate Cemetery in London.

Rezensionen für Das Kapital

[jwhenderson_1 · Bewertung: 3 von 5 Sternen]

This was one of many books I read as part of my education n economic history. In it Marx describes his economic point of view which, surprising to me at the time, agreed with Adam Smith on at least one point. They both shared the "labor theory of value" which simply put argues that the value or cost of an item is based on the amount of labor necessary to produce it. This was supplanted by the subjective theory of value in the nineteenth-century which argues that the value of any item is determined by the value the consumer is willing to place on it. This in turn is interrelated with the scarcity of the item. Beyond this similarity the views of Marx departed from those of Smith. I was not impressed with theses views on my first reading in college and subsequent reading reaffirmed the arbitrariness and contradictory nature of much of Marx's work.

[scottcholstad · Bewertung: 3 von 5 Sternen]

There are actually some pretty good, interesting and challenging ideas in what is arguably one of the most important works in history, yet it is far from perfect and there seem to be quite a few flaws, gaps, judgment calls, perhaps an over-emphasis on idealism while neglecting reality or pragmatism, which is what I always felt was its primary weakness. Still, simply to understand why the world changed so radically prior to 1900 through the present, this is the basic place to begin...

[borg6mx5 · Bewertung: 3 von 5 Sternen]

An incredibly dense read, but so much is said about communism, so much propaganda has been heard. Here is the basic for the now defunct social and economic theory. Some of his ideas still live.

[a2theharris · Bewertung: 5 von 5 Sternen]

Most of this book is dedicated to footnotes. For nearly every point he makes, he studiously supports it with extensive footnotes that almost require footnotes themselves. If you are having difficulty seeing the "logic" of his connections then you are not spending enough time with the footnotes. That is how he reveals his logic. You can disagree with his conclusions, but that's not the same thing as being "illogical". Personally, I think his central thesis is quite logical. Capitalism requires a person to sell his labor for less than the value of the product of his labor, otherwise the capitalistic enterprise cannot make a profit. Then he fills the gaps with his version of class struggle solidifying the inherent unfair relationship between employee and employer as the profit motive becomes so paramount. Illogical? No. It's a classic analysis of conflict of interest. Controversial? Of course. This book is extensive, but it's easier to understand if you think of it as a model of capitalism at his time in history rather than some declaration of eternal truth. Karl Marx himself knew that this book was not capable of seeing the full expanse of capitalism. That's why he intended on writing three more volumes. His best friend and patron, Fredrich Engels had two more published based on Marx's notes and research since he died too early to make the other volumes happen.

[jpsnow · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

I am stunned to learn that this... this "rigid scientific investigation" is the foundational idea that so dramatically affected recent world history. Marx makes a series of illogical leaps to build his theory of labor and capital, while claiming to follow the same scientific process used in chemistry and physics. As is frequently done in economic writing, he begins with one argument: "For simplicity's sake we shall henceforth account every kind of labour to be unskilled, simple labour; by this we do no more than save ourselves the trouble of making the reduction." But he never comes back to show how the real-world violation of that assumption affects the relative market for each class of labor. He does a moderately successful job of showing the economics of "value add" but then creates another logical gap in the process of allowing free market exchange for each laborer's portion. (To summarize the argument, someone gets more for something and it clearly isn't the laborer.) It was interesting to see the reference to Robinson Crusoe (a frequent event in economics.) The closest he comes to that dangerous border of reality is his admission that compulsory labor is less productive. That is the point where an enterprising student could ask "because of lack of incentive?" In his own chapter on "contradictions" he himself makes a critical mathematical error in showing who gets the surplus value from exchange. Again, a whole argument is built on this to show the disparity that faces the worker. He bases the low living wage provided to workers as being similar to the ancient societies that bought from provinces with money taxed from them. In "The Labour Process" he references that the "way to Hell is paved with good intentions." He also quotes Benjamin Franklin. Summary: Due to monopoly power, the capitalist benefits from labor's surplus value without contributing anything to the process. Asserted but not proven.