Capital: Critique of Political Economy

Methodology and Conclusions

In «Capital: Critique of Political Economy», Karl Marx employs dialectical and historical materialism as the primary methodology for analyzing the capitalist system. He examines economic categories such as commodity, value, money, capital, surplus value, and exploitation through the lens of their historical development and interconnections. Marx applies a scientific approach based on critical analysis of the works of classical economists like Adam Smith and David Ricardo, as well as empirical data of his time. Marx concludes that the capitalist system is inherently unstable, leading to capital concentration, intensified class struggle, and inevitable crisis, which can only be resolved through a transition to a socialist society. He argues that the exploitation of the working class is the foundation of capitalist profit and that capitalism contains internal contradictions that will ultimately lead to its downfall.