This book provides an up-to-date reading of Capital Volume I, emphasizing the relevance of Marx's analysis to everyday twenty-first century struggles.
Harry Cleaver's treatise outlines and critiques Marx's analysis chapter by chapter. His unique interpretation of Marx's labour theory of value reveals how every theoretical category of Capital designates aspects of class struggle in ways that help us resist and escape them. At the same time, while rooted within the tradition of workerism, he understands the working class to include not only the industrial proletariat but also unwaged peasants, housewives, children and students.
A challenge to scholars and an invaluable resource for students and activists today.
What People Are Saying
"The ideal introduction to Marx for a new generation of activists, and a fresh reading for Marxist scholars. Like 'Reading Capital Politically', it demonstrates that Marx's work speaks directly to the struggles of our time." Silvia Federici
"Shows that Marxism can be joined with feminist and workerist thought to achieve a broader and more exacting understanding of how class struggle still shapes our world's history." George Caffentzis, founder of Midnight Notes Collective
"Stands out from [other interpretations of 'Capital'], foregrounding the resistance of waged and unwaged people alike. Brings Marx to life and shows the continuing relevance of his work." Brett Caraway, Professor of Media Economics and Law, University of Toronto
"This essential interpretation shows how all kinds of contemporary activists can apply Marx's analysis to pull us back from an otherwise catastrophic future. A highly charged tool for revolution." Anitra Nelson, author of Small is Necessary: Shared Living on a Shared Planet (Pluto, 2018)
"There are many books about Marx and Capital, but Harry Cleaver's achieves a unique synthesis of energy and organisation. This is a singular work by a great Marxist scholar.." Nick Dyer-Witheford, author of Cyber-Proletariat: Global Labour in the Digital Vortex
"Masterfully illuminates the particulars of Marx's great work. He brings alive to readers what might otherwise appear as dry, abstract concepts, and shows how people's lives are in thrall to these ideas." David Sherman, author of Sartre and Adorno: The Dialectics of Subjectivity