The Capital: All 3 Volumes - Complete Edition

I just finished reading Das Kapital yesterday. Sometimes, certain books carry with it a reputation that seems to take on a life of it's own. As a result, when reading a book like this, I try to get a feel for what people have said about it or what kind of insight they could provide as to it's contents by reading some it's reviews. One person says that it's a book with which you take your time. Indeed, it took me two and a half months to complete all three volumes, finishing on March 15th, incidentally a day after Marx's death in 1883. Another review says that along with texts like The Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund Freud or On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin, Das Kapital is a text for which you'd be at a disadvantage for not reading. "These books are famous for a reason," the same reviewer said. Das Kapital is widely regarded as the most comprehensive, thorough and scientific analysis and criticism of capitalism. It utilizes algebraic equations which can be challenging and confusing, but certainly within the realm of comprehension. If capitalism were an engine, Karl Marx disassembled every piece of it, examined it, analyzed it, documented his findings, and envisioned a better, more efficient people-oriented (as opposed to profit-oriented) engine. Marx wasn't just an economist, but a historian, philosopher, journalist, political theorist, and Revolutionary Socialist. Both Marx and Engels studied labor conditions in a variety of fields of work, including agricultural and industrial. They studied the circulation of money and commodities. The works and ideas of Adam Smith (commonly referred to as the father of modern economics) are thoroughly dissected and analyzed. Modern economics dances around the source of surplus-value, which is labor power, and scrambles to attribute that source of value to everything but the laborer. It's backwards. It effectively reduces capitalism to a scam, composed with the intent to further enrich the already wealthy (capitalism is an evolved form of feudalism) by exploiting the labor of the working class. Reading it puts current events in a clearer context, and I understand it instinctively. Because we all know capitalism. As the working class, we all bear the brunt of our system, and instinctively understand all too well capitalism's many pitfalls. Our government was never designed to benefit the People, but rather the wealthy. This is definitely a book worth experiencing. - Drew ☭

If you want to get a detailed look at how capitalism works from the top down, this is the book to read. I just wish they could have developed some solutions to improve capitalism.

This edition appears to use the original text, and I appreciate that it includes all three volumes in one set. I’m not an economist, so the reading is slow for me as I work through it carefully to fully understand the material. If you’re interested in this classic, expect to approach it like a textbook. Overall, a solid and complete edition.

Importance work

"Capital: A Critique of Political Economy" is a monumental work by Karl Marx that delves into the inner workings of capitalism and its impact on society. The book is divided into three volumes, with the first volume being the most well-known and widely read. Marx begins by examining the nature of labor and how it relates to the production and exchange of goods. He argues that the value of a good is determined by the amount of labor that goes into producing it, and that the exploitation of workers is inherent in the capitalist system. He also critiques the idea of "commodity fetishism," in which goods are seen as having a value in and of themselves, rather than being a product of human labor. One of the most powerful aspects of "Capital" is its analysis of how capitalist production shapes society. Marx argues that the pursuit of profit leads to the concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a small elite, while most people are left to struggle for survival. He also examines how capitalism creates a cycle of boom and bust, with periodic economic crises leading to unemployment and poverty for working people. Overall, "Capital" is a thought-provoking and powerful critique of capitalism. It is not an easy read, as it is dense and filled with economic theory and historical analysis. However, it is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the dynamics of capitalist society and the potential for alternatives.

This is an excellent edition of a text where usually only vol 1 is read or is taken to be Marx and the rest is thought of as a fill in by Engels. Actually all three volumes fit together as a whole. It is as Richard D Wolff the prominent Economic Marxist in America says Marx wrote a “critique” of Capitalism. Just as Kant wrote a Critique of Pure Reason to better understand the basis of human knowledge. Marx wanted to better understand the economic process we call Capitalism. In fact, a great supplement to this reading of Capital is Richard Wolff’s book Contending Economic Theories which he wrote with Stephen A Resnick. It covers Neoclassical, Keynesian and Marxian economic theories. This along with YouTube sessions conducted by Richard Wolff about Capitalism, Socialism and Marxism goes a long way in simplifying and filling in the gaps to one’s economic understanding. I also found that reading the German Ideology by Karl Marx greatly helps in understanding the social, political and psychological aspects and ramifications of the basic economic rationale. There is to much misunderstanding of what certain terms mean and represent like “communist” or “socialist “ let alone the “isms” attached to these terms. However an open and careful reading of the basic Marxian texts are very revealing of an underlying humanism that is often forgotten in the rush to label and categorize Marxism in certain set ways which upon examination turn out to be not true or misleading. That’s why certain books like those by Sidney Hook a prominent American Marxist Philosopher like his Marxism and Beyond are helpful in this regard.

The irony of reviewing Das Kapital on Amazon doesn’t escape me. Nonetheless, if you want to understand Marx beyond the manifesto, this is the meat and potatoes to Marxist theory. I’d be lying if I said it was an easy read—you really have to remember the era in which this was written due to the lengthy sentences, their structure and the diction used. Still, if you want to understand Marx, this is essential.

This complete 3 volume edition of Karl Marx's 𝘋𝘢𝘴 𝘒𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 was 𝑴𝑨𝑺𝑺𝑰𝑽𝑬! Marx explored the depths of the exploitative, unsustainable, vicious, replaceable economic system of capitalism and exposed it for the 𝑳𝑶𝑾 down system that it is!! It has 𝑻𝑨𝑷𝑬𝑹𝑬𝑫 with my sense of faith in the world. Karl Marx's philosophy and its long lasting impact will never 𝑭𝑨𝑫𝑬!!!!!

Capital Vol. 1, 2, & 3 is not the easiest book to get through, but it’s one of the most impactful. This complete edition makes it easier to follow Marx’s full argument without jumping between volumes. His exploration of commodities, labor, and capital accumulation is detailed and often eye-opening, especially when viewed in the context of today’s economic realities. While the writing style can feel heavy, approaching it with patience turns it into a deeply engaging intellectual journey. It’s a book that encourages you to question and think critically rather than accept ideas at face value. A must-read for anyone interested in economics, history, or social theory.

Great job

画像では第１巻から第３巻までのセットと読めますが、送られてきたのは第１巻のみでした。追加は３週間後も届きません。返品手続きをとりましたが、もよりの郵便局での手続きが煩雑でインドまでの送料も安くなく、失礼ながら購入先の対応も不安（悪意はないと思いますがまた間違われたらたいへん）なので、返品をやめました。問い合わせはしたつもりなのですが、届いているのやら。送られてきた第１巻には不満はありません。

Book is extremely small print even with magnifying glasses to hard to read

The print quality and type-setting is atrocious. It is hard to call it a book even - it's like someone took the text from a huge MS-Word, printed it and bound it. It looks like a book on the surface - but the way how it's done inside is utter low-effort amateurism. Formulas unreadable, bullets not done correctly, paragraphs broken, no table of contents. Just pure low-effort rubbish. I wanted to enjoy diving into this classic, but with this.. it's waste of money.