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Das Kapital reading group, Week 14, April 1-7. From Vol. 1, we are reading parts 4 and 5 of Chapter 24, and parts 1,2,3 of Chapter 25 (hexbear.net)
submitted 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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Sorry I didn't post this on Sunday or Monday I just forgot.

Explain the bookclub: We are reading Volumes 1, 2, and 3 in one year and discussing it in weekly threads. (Volume IV, often published under the title Theories of Surplus Value, will not be included in this particular reading club, but comrades are encouraged to do other solo and collaborative reading.) This bookclub will repeat yearly. The three volumes in a year works out to about 6½ pages a day for a year, 46⅔ pages a week.

I'll post the readings at the start of each week and @mention anybody interested. Let me know if you want to be added or removed.

Just joining us? You can use the archives below to help you reading up to where the group is. There is another reading group on a different schedule at https://lemmygrad.ml/c/genzhou (federated at [email protected] ) which may fit your schedule better. The idea is for the bookclub to repeat annually, so there's always next year.

Archives: Week 1 – Week 2 – Week 3 – Week 4 – Week 5 – Week 6 – Week 7 – Week 8 – Week 9 – Week 10 – Week 11 – Week 12 – Week 13

Week 14, April 1-7. We are reading Vol.1.Ch.24 parts 4 and 5, and Vol.1.Ch.25 parts 1,2, and 3

In other words, aim to get up to the heading 'Section 4 - Different Forms of the Relative surplus population. The General Law of Capitalistic Accumulation' by Sunday.

Discuss the week's reading in the comments.

Use any translation/edition you like. Marxists.org has the Moore and Aveling translation in various file formats including epub and PDF: https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/

Ben Fowkes translation, PDF: http://libgen.is/book/index.php?md5=9C4A100BD61BB2DB9BE26773E4DBC5D

AernaLingus says: I noticed that the linked copy of the Fowkes translation doesn't have bookmarks, so I took the liberty of adding them myself. You can either download my version with the bookmarks added, or if you're a bit paranoid (can't blame ya) and don't mind some light command line work you can use the same simple script that I did with my formatted plaintext bookmarks to take the PDF from libgen and add the bookmarks yourself.

Audiobook of Ben Fowkes translation, American accent, male, links are to alternative invidious instances: 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9

Resources

(These are not expected reading, these are here to help you if you so choose)

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

I found section 4 and 5 of ch. 24 interesting. Especially in terms of like trying to think about imperialism a bit? Like the end of section 5 feels like it lays down foundations again for the development of imperialism later on? With this part

An uncommonly knowing dodge this. It did not prevent Mr. Fawcett saying in the same breath:

“The aggregate wealth which is annually saved in England, is divided into two portions; one portion is employed as capital to maintain our industry, and the other portion is exported to foreign countries... Only a portion, and perhaps, not a large portion of the wealth which is annually saved in this country, is invested in our own industry. 55]

The greater part of the yearly accruing surplus-product, embezzled, because abstracted without return of an equivalent, from the English labourer, is thus used as capital, not in England, but in foreign countries. But with the additional capital thus exported, a part of the “labour fund” invented by God and Bentham is also exported.

and like going to section 4. The part talking about food and like adulteration and stuff. Reminded me of like today with the IMF. Where they dont want countries to be self sufficient and make their own food.

also I found this really interesting

This gratuitous service of past labour, when seized and filled with a soul by living labour, increases with the advancing stages of accumulation.

and

The powerful and ever-increasing assistance given by past labour to the living labour process under the form of means of production is, therefore, attributed to that form of past labour in which it is alienated, as unpaid labour, from the worker himself, i.e., to its capitalistic form. The practical agents of capitalistic production and their pettifogging ideologists are as unable to think of the means of production as separate from the antagonistic social mask they wear today, as a slave-owner to think of the worker himself as distinct from his character as a slave.

makes me think about just like. how massive all that past labor must be today, all over the world. like more then gigantic than like Marx's time, it's hard to even imagine? that it feels a little incomprehensible to even think about all that past labor that helps make up this world today.