Capital: Critique of Political Economy

Key Concepts and Strategies

The main concepts and strategies outlined in Karl Marx's «Capital: Critique of Political Economy» include the following:
1.Theory of Value: Marx develops the labor theory of value, asserting that the value of a commodity is determined by the amount of socially necessary labor expended in its production.
2.Surplus Value: Marx introduces the concept of surplus value as the difference between the value of the produced commodity and the value of the labor expended in its production. This serves as the basis for explaining the exploitation of the working class by capitalists.
3.Capital and Its Forms: Marx analyzes capital as self-expanding value, distinguishing its forms—monetary, productive, and commodity capital.
4.Process of Capital Accumulation: Marx describes the process of capital accumulation as the main driving force of the capitalist economy, leading to the concentration and centralization of capital.
5.Class Struggle: Marx emphasizes the inevitability of class struggle between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie as a consequence of capitalist production relations.
6.Overproduction Crises: Marx explains cyclical economic crises as a result of contradictions within the capitalist system, particularly the contradiction between production and consumption.
7.Alienation of Labor: Marx considers the alienation of labor as a process where workers lose control over their labor activity and its outcomes, leading to dehumanization and alienation from oneself. These concepts and strategies form the basis of Marx's critique of the capitalist system and serve as the theoretical foundation for Marxist economic theory.