Marx’s Capital in a day

September 2017 marks the 150th anniversary since the first publication of “Das Kapital” – Karl Marx’s masterpiece of political economy.

With this magnum opus, Marx revolutionised our understanding of the capitalist system, uncovering and explaining its inner processes and inherent contradictions.

Following the financial crash of 2008, and with capitalism today stuck in a seemingly permanent economic crisis, Marx’s Capital is even more relevant now than at the time it was written.

To celebrate the 150th anniversary of Capital, and to help guide readers through its pages, Socialist Appeal and the Marxist Student Federation are hosting Capital in a Day, with six sessions – involving talks and discussions – covering the revolutionary ideas contained within Marx’s Capital (Volume One) and their relevance in understanding today’s world of crisis-ridden capitalism.

Venue: Student Central (formerly ULU), Room 3E
Malet Street, London

Tickets: £5 unwaged/student; £10 waged; £20 solidarity
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/marxs-capital-in-a-day-150th-anniversary-tickets-33616304271

Timetable below

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This event is open to all – whether you are a seasoned Marxist or completely new to socialist ideas. All sessions are designed to be accessible to those new to Marxism, and no prior knowledge or reading of Capital is required.

Links are provided below to an online reading guide that can be read in conjunction with Capital, Volume One or used as an introduction to the day’s discussions.

Copies of Capital and a reading guide, along with a range of other Marxist literature, will be available to purchase on the day. You can also find the book online for free here: https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/ch01.htm

Timetable:

09:30-10:00: Registration
10:00-10:30: 150 years on – the relevance of Marx’s Capital today (introduction)

10:30-11:30: Commodities and the Labour Theory of Value (chapter 1)
11:30-12:30: What is money? (chapters 2-3)

12:30-13:30: Lunch

13:30-14:30: Exploitation, wages, and profit (chapters 4-11 and 16-22)
14:30-15:30: Machinery, technology, and productivity (chapters 12-15)

15:30-16:00: Break

16:00-17:00: Inequality – the dynamics and origins of capitalism (chapters 23-31)
17:00-17:30: Capitalist crisis and the revolutionary alternative (closing remarks)

Online reading guide:

Chapter 1 – The Commodity – http://www.socialist.net/marx-s-capital-chapter-one-the-commodity.htm
Chapters 2-3 – Money – http://www.socialist.net/marx-s-capital-chapters-2-3-money.htm
Chapters 4-8 – Surplus Value – http://www.socialist.net/marx-s-capital-chapters-4-8-surplus-value.htm
Chapters 9-11 – Exploitation and the Working Day –
http://www.socialist.net/marx-s-capital-chapters-9-11-exploitation-and-the-working-day.htm
Chapters 12-14 – Productivity, Co-operation, and the Division of Labour – http://www.socialist.net/marx-s-capital-chapters-12-14-productivity-co-operation-and-division-of-labour.htm
Chapter 15 – Machinery – http://www.socialist.net/marx-s-capital-chapters-15-the-machine.htm
Chapters 16-22 – Wages – http://www.socialist.net/marx-s-capital-chapters-16-22-wages.htm
Chapters 23-25 – Accumulation – http://www.socialist.net/marx-s-capital-chapters-23-25-accumulation.htm
Chapters 26-31 – The Origins of Capitalism – http://www.socialist.net/marx-s-capital-chapters-26-33-the-origins-of-capitalism.htm