Grundrisse: Foundations of the Critique of Political Economy

This is a long book but a must-read for anyone seriously interested in Marx’s theories. Written in haste because Marx wanted to make his ideas public in connection with what he thought was a pending financial crisis, the book was in fact never published in his lifetime, and only translated into English in 1973. Despite its late appearance in the Marxist literature, it deserves attention for the following reasons.

First, it was an effort to outline Marx’s entire project of which his books on Capital were only a part. Thus, it may be the best place to get an overview of the mature Marx’s theory, including the circulation of capital in production and distribution, the emergence of the capitalist mode of production historically out of show more precapitalist formations, and the tendency for capital to grow ever larger through reinvestment of profits.

Second, the extensive quotations in notes from the works of economists is combined with the use of Hegelian logic to set forth Marx’s theory of capital. While the discussions of bourgeois economists are lengthy and not in finished form, they help the reader situate Marx’s own thoughts in the context of the work done by others. And as he develops his theory it is fascinating to see how he uses Hegelian logic to trace the dialectics in the contradictions of capital.

Third, whatever one thinks of Marxism, it would be hard for anyone to deny the numerous insights in this book that shed light on current challenges. The role of technology in the economy, the causes of financial crises, the tension between labor and capital, and most importantly, the inherent nature of capitalism to expand are with us today. show less

This was my second foray into Marx- having only completed The Communist Manifesto. It's a complex, multi-layered, sophisticated and extremely interesting document. While I feel I need some supplemental reading to comprehend better what I have rerad, I still feel that with this core text I have picked up on a lot of theory and information that Marx wished to relate. Overall, an illuminating read and not my last Marx book to be sure.

3.5 stars.

Written during the winter of 1857-8, the Grundrisse was considered by Marx to be the first scientific elaboration of communist theory. A collection of seven notebooks on capital and money, it both develops the arguments outlined in the Communist Manifesto (1848) and explores the themes and theses that were to dominate his great later work Capital. Here, for the first time, Marx set out his own version of Hegel's dialectics and developed his mature views on labour, surplus value and profit, offering many fresh insights into alienation, automation and the dangers of capitalist society. Yet while the theories in Grundrisse make it a vital precursor to Capital, it also provides invaluable descriptions of Marx's wider-ranging philosophy, show more making it a unique insight into his beliefs and hopes for the foundation of a communist state. show less

An essential introduction to Marx's economic thought. It marks the transition between the early Marx and the mature activist-scholar.

The Grundrisse is the 1857-8 draft of Capital. It also includes the material published in 1859 by Marx under the title Zur Kritik der politischen Oeconomie, with the well-known preface giving a brief summary of what is now customarily referred to as the materialist conception of history. The Grundrisse contains an analysis of the contrasting development of Antiquity and Asian society. [Marxism 1961]

The argument outlined on pages 375-376 [concerning precapitalist economic formations] is among the most brilliant and incisive of Marx's writings. Unfortunately, it remained a mere sketch and, what is worse, it did not see the light until 1939-1941. Had it been published around 1900, instead of remaining unknown until our days, one may show more suppose that Max Weber and his school would have found even better reason for relating themselves to Marx's researches. Marx in fact anticipated a good deal of what Weber had to say about Oriental society. [Oriental Despotism, 1963] show less

1/19/23