Capital

Outline

Capital (1867) examines how capitalism operates through the production of commodities, the organisation of labour, and the accumulation of wealth. Karl Marx argues that profit is generated by the difference between the value workers create and the wages they receive, a process he describes through the concept of surplus value. The book analyses money, markets, industrial production, and class relations, revealing how the pursuit of capital can produce inequality, exploitation, and recurring economic crises. The first volume appeared in 1867, while the remaining volumes were published after Marx’s death.

• Capitalism runs on the production of commodities, the organisation of labour, and the accumulation of wealth.
• Marx argues that profit comes from the gap between the value workers create and the wages they receive.
• He calls this gap surplus value, and it is the core of his critique of capitalism.
• The book analyses money, markets, industrial production, and class relations as parts of one system.
• Marx argues that the pursuit of capital can produce inequality, exploitation, and recurring economic crises.

Karl Marx was a German philosopher, economist, historian, and political theorist whose ideas profoundly influenced modern politics, economics, and social thought. He studied capitalism, class conflict, and the relationship between economic systems and social institutions. Working closely with Friedrich Engels, he developed a critique of capitalism and argued that historical change is largely driven by struggles between social classes.