2025 is the year I plan on reading Volumes 1-3 of Capital. I understand that Marxists.org has the Moore/Engels version, but most people seem to prefer the Fowkes translation in Penguin. Recently, there is the Reitter translation of Volume 1 that supposedly uses a later original German edition of Capital as the base than the widely beloved Fowkes translation, but I am not sure if anyone has any experience with it yet.
Which would you recommend for someone diving into Capital for the first time? I’d prefer a physical version (to take notes) but I am not too fussed if its an ebook, I’m not incapable of using a notebook or anything instead of direct annotation.
Honestly choose whatever translation accessible to you to buy and read over
I just chose Marxist.org because it’s accessible to me, to take notes online on docs
All 3 are accessible to me (especially if I sail the seven seas), I was just wondering what people here tend to prefer as I believe the general user here knows a good deal more than I do.
Well, you ought to @ @CriticalResist8@lemmygrad.ml or someone higher like him, such as @yogthos@lemmygrad.ml , since I’m too philistine enough to know difference between the 3 translations
Btw: why is it usually that Chapos answer here, when a Chapo questions here, lmao
Figured it would be rude to directly @ people, but I welcome their input if they choose to engage!
As for the Chapo question, my best guess is that the activity of Hexbear is generally much higher, but your guess is as good as mine lol
I honestly wouldn’t worry too much which version you read. I read the first volume of Moore/Engels version and it was fine. I did find that it was a pretty tough read, particularly the first half. Marx spends a lot of time establishing the base of his argument, and explaining what the fundamentals of an economy are, what money represents, and so on. It’s all necessary stuff, but I did find it to be a bit of a slog. The second part of the book is much more engaging though, and you can really see how he nails a lot of the invariants of capitalism because it’s so relatable today. My biggest advice would be to be prepared to just take it slow, and make sure you’ve really digested each chapter before moving to the next one.
Thanks, appreciate the advice! If Hexbear does another reading group for 2025 I will probably take that opportunity to hold myself accountable with respect to keeping up with it, while pacing myself.
I’ve heard that the first 3 chapters are especially dense, but once I digest those fully the rest should come more naturally.
Yeah that tracks from my recollection. I do find the style Marx uses can be somewhat painful to follow because he’ll keep building up the argument to the point where you start losing track of the whole point being made, and you have to go back and reread earlier parts of the argument. He doesn’t bother breaking it up it small chunks you can digest individually.
Yea, Marx’s thoroughness and repitition certainly comes through in even his shorter texts, I imagine Capital makes this far more pronounced.
The second part of the book is much more engaging though, and you can really see how he nails a lot of the invariants of capitalism because it’s so relatable today.
Volume 2, on circulation? Honestly, that was the book I didn’t understand. What did you take away from that?
Oh no, I just meant the second part of the first volume. Regarding circulation, my understanding was that capitalism requires a continuous, uninterrupted circulation process to realize surplus value in order to reproduce itself. However, this process contains inherent contradictions making it prone to crises due to the varying time it takes for capital to flow through its different phases of production, circulation, and consumption.
Marx argues that surplus value, created in production, can only be realized through circulation. Capitalists must sell the commodities they produce to get back their initial investment and to make profit. The money must then reinvested to restart the cycle, allowing the system to reproduce itself.
Since there is time and cost involved in commodities being transported, stored, and marketed, capital ends up being tied up and can’t generate new value during that period. Effectively, these costs reduce the overall surplus value that’s realized. Different forms of capital have different turnover times. Fixed capital such as machinery or buildings is invested for long periods, while circulating capital like raw materials and labor power turns over quickly. The disparity creates unevenness in the accumulation process.
Discrepancies between production and consumption, changes in demand, difficulties in selling, and variations in turnover times can disrupt the flow of capital introducing instabilities. These disruptions can lead to overproduction or devaluation of capital that culminate in recurring economic crises.
Capitalism seeks to overcome these problems either through optimization of supply chains or use of credit and financial systems to help accelerate the flow of capital. However, these solutions can also exacerbate the system’s inherent contradictions.
The core argument, if I understand it correctly, is that smooth circulation of capital is necessary for the survival of the capitalist system. Yet, circulation itself a source of instability and crises, as the pursuit of profit constantly pushes against the limitations of time and the unpredictability of the market.
I haven’t read Capital in English unfortunately
I don’t have a suggestion on which translation but I’d like to plug “Reading Capital With Comrades” on Spotify as a supplementary reading aid. That’s actually how I consumed the book(I haven’t personally read it) and the guy that does it did a really good job at explaining things. The only complaint is that he cites 3 versions for each quote, each time and it gets a bit annoying. I wish he’d have just gone with one source.
Will keep that in mind, thanks! I want to take my time with it because at this point I feel that I am quite comfortable in the basics of Marxism-Leninism and feel that it’s the right time to take on Capital, so having other comrades supplementing my knowledge via reading aids will be a part of that.
The way the podcast is set up is that you read a chapter, and then listed to that episode. I cheated and just listened but if you go the intended route, I think you will have an easy time, especially considering what all you’ve read already.
The first three chapters are gonna seem really familiar to you most likely since it’s basically just “Wage Labor and Capital” and I think “Value, Price and Profit” but chapter 4 introduced the MCM and CMC formulas which is basically “money buys
capitalcommodities and makes money” andcapitalcommodities makes money and buys morecapitalcommodities" respectively. The rest of the book basically builds on these formulas and the first 3 chapters iirc(it’s been like 2 years).E: C actually stands for commodity, not capital, woopsies!
Yep, I am already familiar with the overlying messages of Capital, but I really want to dig into Capital itself, hence the waffling about which translation to use.
I just did a quick search and there are 2 reddit posts suggesting the Penguin Classics translation by Ben Fowkes so maybe go with that one?
From the digging around of Reddit, most people agree Fowkes over Moore/Engels, but the new Reitter translation could be better than both. If I can’t find a clear rec one way or the other with respect to Reitter, then I will likely default to Fowkes.
I just grabbed the Fowkes version since I never really added the actual book to my collection lol. It’s 1152 pages though.
Yep, hence my intention to read all 3 volumes (ignoring Volume 4 for now) at a steady pace in 2025, haha. Most works I have read up to this point have been no more than 300 pages, but I feel prepared and motivated. If I’m going to be spending a long time with the text, I figured I’d at least ask what a good consensus on translation is, haha.
don’t have anything to add regarding translations but on reading aids, the David Harvey lecture series from like 2007 is meant to be a really good companion. i’ve only gone through a few of them but have heard really good things from friends. I think he is easy to listen to and takes you through a great close reading of the texts explaining concepts and prompting good questions as he goes along. they can all be found on youtube, i think there is a newer series from 2019 as well, he has been teaching the text every year for a long time and knows it extremely well.
Thank you! The David Harvey lectures are something I saw brought up quite a lot in the bit of research I’ve done so far, I will definitely be using them alongside my reading as a companion to it (at least for the first 3 chapters, which I’ve heard are the densest). Appreciate your input, comrade!
Harvey also has a companion guide book to Capital.
Oh, cool! Thanks!
I read the Ben Fowkes penguin edition. It’s good. Some of the footnotes are a bit… meta - where you have footnotes from Marx, BF and Engels. This version is my preference , as I like to hold the book, especially if I have to study something carefully.
IMO it’s better than the Marxists.org copy because the online version contains errors. only minor typos, formatting issues and unclear footnotes but they are there. I do refer to that version and have skim read most of it because it’s handy to have an online, always-accessible, searchable version.
but for closely studying, i would go with the physical penguin version if you can afford it and can get along with handwriting notes, etc (if you work better online, the Marxists.org version will be fine.)
As for the reading order, you don’t have to read it from start to finish. Pick a later chapter that looks interesting and think about the general concepts that you already know about while you read it. . Once you see how Marx deploys his concepts in one of the…juicier chapters, you might find chapters 1-4 a lot more engaging. because you will know where Marx is going with them.
(I would suggest then eventually re-reading the later chapter when you read from chapter 1 chronologically - you’ll be able to re-evaluate it knowing Marx’s notion of commodities in more depth and things will start to make a lot of sense).
Appreciate it! Definitely leaning Penguin physical, maybe Reitter down the road for a re-read.
you’re welcome. I’m thinking of taking a look at the reitter translation. if I can find the time, I’ll read it this year (assuming I’m not the only one who is treating 2025 basically to have started already-i don’t think I’ll get around to it in '24). I’ll make a post about it if I do
likewise , let me know what you think if you go with that version or read it later ; there’s a strong chance that you’ll read it before me lol (my reading list is always far too ambitious).
Haha, I have trimmed my theory “need to read” list to around 30 more works, 3 of which are Capital but others are around 30 minutes of reading, some are 10 hours, etc. I plan on making my way through it in 2025, though that will be difficult… and I still plan on reading more afterwards.
Will let you know if I go with Reitter though!
There is also a book called “Marx’s Das Kapital for Beginners” by Michael Wayne that might be helpful. I haven’t read it though but just remembered it was in my library.
Gotcha, will check it out!
I’ve got the Reitter translation, but haven’t started it yet. I’ll let you know once I’m done with it.
Do you know if there are plans for Vol. 2 and 3 or is it only a Vol. 1 release?
From what I have seen, they have started on Volume 2 already, but I am unsure if this is still up to date as that was a while ago.
Ah, good to know! I’ve wanted a nice hardcover edition of the three volumes. I’ll have to pick them up one day.
I’d appreciate it!
