Das Kapital

A critique of political economy by Karl Marx that analyzes commodity production, class relations, and the accumulation of capital. Its three volumes examine capitalist production, circulation, and the wider process of capitalist production.

Connect

Commodity: A good or service produced for exchange rather than solely for its use. Marx begins his analysis with commodities and their dual character as use-values and values.
Capital: Wealth invested to generate more wealth through production or exchange. Marx treats capital as a social relation and a process, not merely accumulated things.
Karl Marx: A German philosopher, economist, and revolutionary socialist who developed a critique of capitalism with Friedrich Engels. He wrote the book and continued its unfinished volumes through his research.
Working day: The period during which workers perform labor for an employer. Marx’s analysis shows how conflict over its length shapes the production of surplus value.
Marxian economics: Economic theories derived from Marx’s analysis of value, class, production, and capital. The book provides the foundation for this diverse body of economic thought.
Use-value: The capacity of a good or service to satisfy a human want. It names the useful aspect that Marx distinguishes from a commodity’s value.
M-C-M′: Marx’s formula for capital’s circuit: money buys commodities and returns as more money. It captures the expansion that distinguishes capital’s movement from ordinary exchange.
Friedrich Engels: A German social theorist and political activist who collaborated with Marx and edited volumes two and three of Das Kapital. After Marx’s death, Engels prepared the later volumes for publication from his manuscripts.
Factory Acts: British laws that regulated working conditions and hours in factories, especially for women and children. Marx uses factory legislation and its enforcement to document struggles over the working day.
Historical materialism: An approach to history that emphasizes material production and social relations as forces shaping social change. The book applies this approach to capitalism’s emergence and development.