Description
Wage Labour and Capital
Book Summary
This work gathers the lectures that Karl Marx delivered in 1847 to the German Workers' Association in Brussels, later published as articles in the Neue Rheinische Zeitung. With clear and direct language, Marx explains the foundations of Political Economy to provide workers with the theoretical tools necessary for their struggle against capital. The book analyzes the nature of wage labour, the commodity that the worker is forced to sell every day to survive, and unveils the mechanisms that determine its price. An essential work for understanding the bases of Marxist thought from an accessible and combative perspective.
What is it about?
In these pages, Karl Marx develops a systematic exposition of the fundamental economic relations that define capitalism. Through rigorous analysis, the author explains what a wage is, how it is determined, and why the worker's labour generates more value than they receive in return. The work dismantles bourgeois prejudices that consider economic issues a field exclusive to scholars, presenting complex concepts such as surplus value, capital, and commodity in a way that is understandable to any reader. Marx shows how labour power becomes the proletariat's only possession, a commodity that must be sold daily to subsist, and reveals the laws that govern its price in the market.
Main Topics
- Nature and function of wage labour in the capitalist system
- Determination of the value of labour power as a commodity
- Relationship between wages, capital, and surplus value
- Mechanisms of exploitation inherent to the employment relationship
- Critique of bourgeois prejudices regarding political economy
Who is it recommended for?
This book is aimed at students and scholars of political science, economics, and sociology interested in Marxist thought from its original sources. It is also of great value to political and social activists who seek to understand the theoretical foundations of the critique of capitalism. Readers with concerns about labour relations, economic inequality, and the history of the labour movement will find in this work a clear and accessible exposition of key concepts.
What this book provides
- Clear understanding of the fundamental concepts of Marxist political economy
- Direct access to the original thought of Karl Marx in a brief and accessible format
- Theoretical tools to critically analyze contemporary labour relations
- Historical context on the workers' struggle and the development of revolutionary thought
Technical Specifications
- Author: Marx, Karl
- Publisher: Mandala Ediciones
- Language: Spanish
- Subject: POLITICAL SCIENCE AND THEORY, POLITICAL ACTIVISM
- Collection: PROKOMUN
- Binding: Paperback
- Edition date: February 2022
- Number of pages: 96
- Weight: 83 g
Editorial Review
This edition by Mandala Ediciones recovers a foundational text of Marxist thought in a manageable and accessible format. The work remains fully relevant as an introduction to the economic categories that Marx would later develop in Capital, offering the reader a direct gateway into his thought. The expository clarity and the brevity of the text make it a useful tool both for those beginning in critical theory and for those seeking to revisit the original sources of the analysis of capitalism.