Knowra Marxian economics Marxian economics Marxian economics analyzes how production, class relations, and capital accumulation shape capitalist economies. It builds on Karl Marx’s critique of political economy and includes diverse later interpretations.
Labor theory of value : A theory that relates commodity value to the socially necessary labor time required for production. Marx uses socially necessary labor time to explain commodity value and the source of surplus.
Historical materialism : An approach that explains historical change through material production and social relations. It supplies the broader account of social change within which Marx analyzes capitalism.
Karl Marx : A nineteenth-century philosopher, political economist, and socialist who co-authored The Communist Manifesto and wrote Capital. His critique of political economy established the tradition’s central questions and categories.
Neoclassical economics : An economic tradition that explains prices and allocation through choices, preferences, and constrained optimization. It generally explains distribution through marginal contributions rather than Marxian class relations and exploitation.
Rosa Luxemburg : A Marxist theorist and revolutionary who analyzed accumulation, imperialism, and mass political action. Her account of accumulation expanded debates about capitalism’s dependence on noncapitalist settings.
Surplus value : Value produced by workers beyond the value represented by their wages, appropriated by owners of production. It names the difference Marx uses to explain how profit arises from wage labor.
Mode of production : A historically specific organization of productive forces and social relations of production. Capitalism is analyzed as a distinct mode of production rather than a timeless market system.
Friedrich Engels : A German philosopher and socialist who collaborated with Marx and edited later volumes of Capital. His collaboration and editorial work helped shape and transmit Marx’s economic writings.
Keynesian economics : An economic tradition emphasizing aggregate demand, uncertainty, and the role of policy in stabilizing output and employment. Its crisis analysis centers on demand and policy, unlike Marxian accounts grounded in capitalist contradictions.
Vladimir Lenin : A Marxist revolutionary and political leader who developed theories of imperialism and party organization. His theory of imperialism applied Marxian analysis to finance capital and global expansion.
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