Marx and the Meaning of Capitalism Introduction and Analyses
An introductory and analytical look into the essence of Marxian economics that begins the processof divorcing Marxian economics from Stalinism.
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Marx and the Meaning of Capitalism Introduction and Analyses Stanley Bober
MARX AND THE MEANING OF CAPITALISM
Copyright © Stanley Bober, 2008. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2008 978-0-230-60679-1 All rights reserved. First published in 2008 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN® in the US—a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-60342-8 ISBN 978-0-230-61371-3 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9780230613713 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Bober, Stanley. Marx and the meaning of capitalism : introduction and analyses / by Stanley Bober. p. cm. 1. Marxian economics. 2. Capitalism. I. Title. HB97.5.B538 2008 335.412––dc22
2007050114
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First edition: July 2008 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Transferred to Digital Printing 2009
To Sharon and Mitchell, my constant sources of inspiration.
Contents
Preface
ix
Acknowledgment
xi
1
The Philosophy
1
2
The Basic Design
15
3
Value and Transformation
33
4 Critical Observations
57
5
83
Rebuttal and Defense
6 Crises in Capitalism
139
7
177
End Thoughts and Marxian Relevancy
Notes
187
Bibliography
197
Index
201
Preface
his book undertakes a study of the economics of Karl Marx because his analysis imparts to us an essential truth, or ideological imprint, about capitalism as a social and productive structure. It is that Marx exposes and opens up an understanding of social class relationships in the economic sphere of capitalist society; and how the workings of this class arrangement impacts on people’s lives in terms of income, employment, and working practices. An analysis of “Marxism” would have us discover not only how capitalism works, but to learn what capitalism is. And what it is forms the basis for what it does (and how), which is being a very successful mechanism in the creation of wealth in the form of a myriad of commodities. This is what is obviously visible, and paraded as to what capitalism is. But commodities as goods that are produced in a particular “social” environment are not only things that contain use-characteristics, that is, in Marxian terms “use-values”; but they are things that by the very act of their production contain unseen relationships between classes of people. This connection or relationship, which is central to Marx, is given visibility by his analysis of the concept of “labor value” inherent in a commodity. What capitalism means, is an historicall
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