EDUCATION | Part 1 | Reading Marx's “Capital” with David Harvey

The speaker introduces the idea of teaching a class in a public space, emphasizing the value of having such a resource. He explains his plan to revisit Marx's Capital Volume One, noting the changes in the world and in himself since he last taught it in 2007. He reflects on Marx and Engels' observation about the need to update the Communist Manifesto due to societal changes. The speaker shares his long-term engagement with teaching Marx's Capital and how it remains intellectually stimulating due to its complexity and relevance to changing realities.

The speaker addresses the contemporary challenge of engaging students with lengthy and complex texts like Marx's Capital, especially in an age dominated by social media and quick information consumption. He recounts reactions from students in the 1970s and 1990s, highlighting their initial reluctance to read the book due to its perceived irrelevance or daunting size. He argues that despite these challenges, reading Marx's work critically can provide deep insights into current societal issues, countering the trend of superficial education that prioritizes information absorption over critical thinking.

The speaker discusses Marx's intent to make his work accessible to the working class, particularly through the French edition of Capital. Marx acknowledged the difficulty of his analytical method, fearing that the initial chapters might dishearten readers. He believed that understanding the text required a rigorous intellectual effort. The speaker emphasizes Marx's focus on communicating with a self-educated working class and the challenges posed by formal education systems that might render the book less accessible. He highlights the importance of engaging with the text on Marx's terms to fully grasp its concepts.

The speaker encourages readers to approach Marx's Capital with an open mind, setting aside preconceived notions about Marx and his work. He explains the importance of engaging with the text as a conversation, allowing it to challenge and provoke critical thinking. The speaker acknowledges the difficulty of understanding Marx's terms without prior knowledge of the text and suggests that reading the book multiple times can help. He emphasizes the dialectical method used by Marx, where understanding evolves through repeated engagement with the material.

The speaker delves into Marx's analytical method, which relies on abstraction to understand economic forms. Marx emphasizes the importance of abstraction to replace traditional scientific methods like microscopy and chemical analysis in studying economic phenomena. The speaker explains how Marx abstracts from specific forms of labor to the general concept of human labor in the abstract. This abstraction allows Marx to analyze the capitalist mode of production and its dynamics, focusing on England as the purest form of capitalism to understand broader economic laws.

The speaker explores the application of Marx's analysis to contemporary contexts, such as China's economic reforms under Deng Xiaoping. By opening China to market forces, Deng allowed the laws of capitalist development to take hold, resulting in social and economic changes predicted by Marx. The speaker highlights how Marx's analysis of the English capitalist system can explain similar dynamics in other countries. He emphasizes that Marx's laws of motion of capital are universal and continue to shape modern economies, demonstrating the relevance of Marx's work today.

The speaker explains the significance of official reports, such as those by factory inspectors and medical reporters, in Marx's analysis. These reports exposed the conditions of the labor force and provided empirical data that Marx used to understand the capitalist mode of production. The speaker underscores the importance of these reports in revealing the hidden dynamics of capitalism and their contribution to Marx's theoretical framework. He notes that the availability of such detailed information in England was crucial for Marx's study.

The speaker outlines the structure of Marx's Capital, explaining that Volume One focuses on the production process, Volume Two on circulation, and Volume Three on distribution. He highlights the abstraction process Marx uses, where each volume builds on the previous one to present a comprehensive analysis of capitalism. The speaker emphasizes the importance of understanding this abstraction and warns against interpreting Volume One's conclusions without considering the broader context provided in the other volumes.

The speaker begins analyzing the first chapter of Marx's Capital, which starts with the commodity. He explains that Marx chose the commodity as the starting point because it is the most universal concept in capitalist society. The commodity has both use value and exchange value, and Marx's analysis begins by examining these aspects. The speaker emphasizes the importance of understanding the dual nature of the commodity to grasp Marx's critique of capitalism.

The speaker elaborates on the dual nature of the commodity, consisting of use value and exchange value. Use value refers to the practical utility of a commodity, while exchange value represents its worth in the market. Marx's analysis seeks to understand how these two aspects relate to each other and to the broader social and economic context. The speaker explains that the exchange value of commodities can be reduced to a common element—human labor in the abstract.

The speaker discusses how the value of a commodity is measured by the amount of labor time socially necessary for its production. He explains that this measure is not fixed and varies with changes in productivity, skill levels, technological advancements, and other factors. Marx's concept of socially necessary labor time introduces a dynamic element to the theory of value, as it depends on the prevailing conditions of production in a given society.

The speaker explores the relationship between labor and value, emphasizing that value is not inherent in the commodity but is a social relation mediated by labor. He explains that value represents congealed labor time and is influenced by factors such as productivity and technological development. Marx's abstraction of human labor in the abstract allows for a deeper understanding of how commodities acquire value through the labor process.

The speaker introduces the concept of the flow of value within the capitalist system, highlighting how value circulates through different forms—money, commodities, and production. He explains that Marx's analysis focuses on the movement and transformation of value, rather than static entities. The flow of value is subject to the laws of motion of capital, which govern the dynamics of production, exchange, and distribution in capitalist societies.

The speaker emphasizes the interconnectedness of production and broader social conditions in determining value. He explains that factors such as natural resources, technological advancements, and social organization all impact the productivity of labor and, consequently, the value of commodities. Marx's analysis integrates these elements to provide a comprehensive understanding of how value is produced and realized within the capitalist system.

The speaker discusses the impact of technological change on value, noting that increases in labor productivity reduce the value of commodities by decreasing the socially necessary labor time required for their production. He explains that this dynamic creates constant shifts in value relations and poses challenges for understanding value within a static framework. The speaker highlights the importance of recognizing the fluidity and variability of value in response to technological and social changes.

The speaker concludes by emphasizing the need for critical engagement with Marx's text. He encourages readers to approach Marx's Capital with an open mind, allowing the text to challenge their preconceptions and provoke deeper understanding. The speaker stresses the importance of grappling with the complexities of Marx's analysis and recognizing the broader social and historical context in which his ideas were developed.