''A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy'' (german: Zur Kritik der Politischen Ökonomie) is a book by
Karl Marx, first published in 1859. The book is mainly a
critique of political economy achieved by critiquing the writings of the leading theoretical exponents of capitalism at that time: these were the
political economists, nowadays often referred to as the
classical economists;
Adam Smith
Adam Smith (baptized 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the thinking of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by some as "The Father of Economics"——— ...
(1723–90) and
David Ricardo (1772–1823) are the foremost representatives of the genre.
Significance
Much of the ''Critique'' was later incorporated by Marx into his magnum opus,
''Capital'' (Volume I), published in 1867, and the ''Critique'' is generally considered to be of secondary importance among Marx's writings. This does not apply, however, to the Preface of the ''Critique''. It contains the first connected account of one of Marx's main theories: the
materialist conception of history
Historical materialism is the term used to describe Karl Marx's theory of history. Marx locates historical change in the rise of class societies and the way humans labor together to make their livelihoods. For Marx and his lifetime collaborat ...
, and its associated "base and superstructure" model of society, which divides human social development into an economic-technological "base" which "conditions"— not determines — the forms of its political-ideological "superstructure". Briefly, this is the idea that economic factors – the way people produce the necessities of life – conditions the kind of politics and ideology a society can have:
Marcello Musto emphasizes this point: "Even the well-known thesis in the 'Preface' to ''A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy''...should not be interpreted in a determinist sense; it should be clearly distinguished from the narrow and predictable reading of 'Marxism–Leninism', in which the superstructural phenomena of society are merely a reflection of the material existence of human beings."
Editions
In English,
A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy' is available in an edition edited by
Maurice Dobb
Maurice Herbert Dobb (24 July 1900 – 17 August 1976) was an English economist at Cambridge University and a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. He is remembered as one of the pre-eminent Marxist economists of the 20th century.
Dobb was bo ...
, published by
Progress Publishers, Moscow (translation by S. W. Ryazanskaya). Lawrence and Wishart (London), and International Publishers (New York) cooperated in the publication of the Progress Publishers edition.
See also
*
Critique of political economy
*
Neue Marx-Lektüre
Notes
References
*Evans, Michael (2013). ''Karl Marx''. London: Routledge. First published 1975, London: Allen and Unwin.
*Ruhle, Otto (1943).
Karl Marx: His Life and Works'. New York, 1943. First published, New York, 1929.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy
1859 books
Books by Karl Marx
1859 in economics
Historical materialism