''Capital. A Critique of Political Economy. Volume III: The Process of Capitalist Production as a Whole'' (german:
Das Kapital
''Das Kapital'', also known as ''Capital: A Critique of Political Economy'' or sometimes simply ''Capital'' (german: Das Kapital. Kritik der politischen Ökonomie, link=no, ; 1867–1883), is a foundational theoretical text in materialist phi ...
. Kritik der politischen Ökonomie Dritter Band. Buch III: Der Gesammtprocess Der Kapitalistischen Produktion), is the third volume of ''
Capital: Critique of Political Economy''. It was prepared by
Friedrich Engels
Friedrich Engels ( ,["Engels"](_blank)
'' Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...
and published in 1894.
Contents
Volume III is in seven parts:
# The conversion of Surplus Value into Profit and the rate of Surplus Value into the rate of Profit
# Conversion of Profit into Average Profit
# The Law of the
Tendency of the Rate of Profit to Fall
The tendency of the rate of profit to fall (TRPF) is a theory in the crisis theory of political economy, according to which the rate of profit—the ratio of the profit to the amount of invested capital—decreases over time. This hypothesis ...
# Conversion of Commodity Capital and Money Capital into Commercial Capital and Money-Dealing Capital (Merchant's Capital)
# Division of Profit Into Interest and Profit of Enterprise, Interest Bearing Capital.
# Transformation of Surplus-Profit into
Ground Rent.
# Revenues and Their Sources
The work is best known today for Part 3 which in summary says that as the organic fixed capital requirements of production rise as a result of advancements in production generally, the
rate of profit tends to fall. This result which
orthodox Marxists believe is a principal contradictory characteristic leading to an inevitable collapse of the capitalist order was held by Marx and Engels to''—''as a result of various contradictions in the
capitalist mode of production—result in
crises
A crisis ( : crises; : critical) is either any event or period that will (or might) lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, or all of society. Crises are negative changes in the human or environmental affair ...
whose resolution necessitates the emergence of an entirely new
mode of production
In the Marxist theory of historical materialism, a mode of production (German: ''Produktionsweise'', "the way of producing") is a specific combination of the:
* Productive forces: these include human labour power and means of production (tools, ...
as the culmination of the same historical dialectic that led to the emergence of
capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, priva ...
from
prior forms.
[Chapter XV, ''Exposition of the Internal Contradictions of the Law'', § IV Supplementary Remarks. p. 264 ¶ 2. Marx–Engels–Lenin Institute. Moscow translation. "This transformation stems from the development of the productive forces under capitalist production, and from the ways and means by which this development takes place".]
Volume 3 is subtitled "The process of capitalist production as a whole" and is concerned primarily with the internal differentiation of the capitalist class. The first three parts are concerned with the division of surplus value amongst individual capitals, where it takes the form of profit. The following parts are concerned with merchants' capital, interest-bearing capital and landed capital. The last part draws the whole account together. The aim of the volume as a whole is to locate and describe the concrete forms which grow out of the movements of capital as a whole. Thus, the various forms of capital approach step by step the form which they assume on the surface of society in the action of different capitals on one another in competition and in the ordinary consciousness of the agents of production themselves (25) (Clarke).
See also
* ''
Das Kapital
''Das Kapital'', also known as ''Capital: A Critique of Political Economy'' or sometimes simply ''Capital'' (german: Das Kapital. Kritik der politischen Ökonomie, link=no, ; 1867–1883), is a foundational theoretical text in materialist phi ...
''
** ''
Capital, Volume I
''Capital. A Critique of Political Economy. Volume I: The Process of Production of Capital'' (german: Das Kapital. Kritik der politischen Ökonomie Erster Band. Buch I: Der Produktionsprocess des Kapitals) is the first of three treatises that ma ...
''
** ''
Capital, Volume II''
*
Differential and absolute ground rent
*
Fictitious capital
Fictitious capital (German: ''fiktives Kapital'') is a concept used by Karl Marx in his critique of political economy. It is introduced in chapter 25 of the third volume of Capital. Fictitious capital contrasts with what Marx calls "real capita ...
*
Prices of production
Prices of production (or "production prices"; in German ''Produktionspreise'') is a concept in Karl Marx's critique of political economy, defined as "cost-price + average profit". A production price can be thought of as a type of supply price for p ...
*
Tendency of the rate of profit to fall
The tendency of the rate of profit to fall (TRPF) is a theory in the crisis theory of political economy, according to which the rate of profit—the ratio of the profit to the amount of invested capital—decreases over time. This hypothesis ...
*
Transformation problem
In 20th-century discussions of Karl Marx's economics, the transformation problem is the problem of finding a general rule by which to transform the "values" of commodities (based on their socially necessary labour content, according to his labou ...
References
Further reading
*
Althusser, Louis
Louis Pierre Althusser (, ; ; 16 October 1918 – 22 October 1990) was a French Marxist philosopher. He was born in Algeria and studied at the École normale supérieure in Paris, where he eventually became Professor of Philosophy.
Althusser w ...
;
Balibar, Étienne (2009). ''Reading Capital''. London: Verso.
*
Althusser, Louis
Louis Pierre Althusser (, ; ; 16 October 1918 – 22 October 1990) was a French Marxist philosopher. He was born in Algeria and studied at the École normale supérieure in Paris, where he eventually became Professor of Philosophy.
Althusser w ...
(1969) (October 1969)
"How to Read Marx's Capital" ''
Marxism Today
''Marxism Today'', published between 1957 and 1991, was the theoretical magazine of the Communist Party of Great Britain. The magazine was headquartered in London. It was particularly important during the 1980s under the editorship of Martin Jacqu ...
''. pp. 302–305. Originally appeared in French in ''
L'Humanité
''L'Humanité'' (; ), is a French daily newspaper. It was previously an organ of the French Communist Party, and maintains links to the party. Its slogan is "In an ideal world, ''L'Humanité'' would not exist."
History and profile
Pre-World Wa ...
'' on 21 April 1969.
* Bottomore, Tom, ed. (1998). ''A Dictionary of Marxist Thought''. Oxford: Blackwell.
*
Fine, Ben (2010). ''Marx's Capital.'' 5th ed. London: Pluto.
*
Harvey, David
David W. Harvey (born 31 October 1935) is a British-born Marxist economic geographer, podcaster and Distinguished Professor of anthropology and geography at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY). He received his PhD ...
(2010). ''A Companion to Marx's Capital.'' London: Verso.
*
Harvey, David
David W. Harvey (born 31 October 1935) is a British-born Marxist economic geographer, podcaster and Distinguished Professor of anthropology and geography at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY). He received his PhD ...
(2006). ''The Limits of Capital''. London: Verso.
*
Mandel, Ernest (1970). ''Marxist Economic Theory''. New York: Monthly Review Press.
*
Postone, Moishe
Moishe Postone (April 17, 1942 – March 19, 2018) was a Canadian historian and social theorist. He was a professor of history at the University of Chicago, where he was part of the Committee on Jewish Studies.
Life and career
Postone was bor ...
(1993). ''Time, Labor, and Social Domination: A Reinterpretation of Marx's Critical Theory''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
* Shipside, Steve (2009). ''Karl Marx's Das Kapital: A Modern-day Interpretation of a True Classic''. Oxford: Infinite Ideas.
* Wheen, Francis (2006). ''Marx's Das Kapital--A Biography''. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press. . .
External links
*
Marx, Karl
Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...
;
Engels, Friedrich, ed. (1894)
"Capital Volume III" Full text at
Marxists Internet Archive
Marxists Internet Archive (also known as MIA or Marxists.org) is a non-profit online encyclopedia that hosts a multilingual library (created in 1990) of the works of communist, anarchist, and socialist writers, such as Karl Marx, Friedrich Eng ...
.
''Capital'' Volume III complete book in
PDF format by
Progress Publishers
Progress Publishers was a Moscow-based Soviet publisher founded in 1931.
Publishing program
Progress Publishers published books in a variety of languages: Russian, English, and many other European and Asian languages. They issued many scientific b ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kapital, Volume III, Das
1894 non-fiction books
Books by Karl Marx
Unfinished books
1894 in economics
Books published posthumously