Value, Price and Profit

By Karl Marx

Among many other characteristics of Marx, this paper shows two especially. These are his patient willingness to make the meaning of his ideas plain to the hum blest student, and the extraordinary clear ness of those ideas. In a partial sense the present volume is an epitome of the first volume of Capital. More than one of us have attempted to ana lyze and simplify that volume._ with not too much success perhaps. In fact, a witty friend and commentator has suggested that what is now required is an explanation by Marx of our explanations of him. I am often asked what is the best succes sion of books for the student to acquire the fundamental principles of Socialism. The question is a difficult one to answer. But, by way of suggestion, one might say, first, Engels' Socialism, Utopian and Scientific, then the present work, the first volume of Capital, and the Student's M am. My small part in the preparation of this work has been reading the manuscript, mak ing a few suggestions as to English forms of expression, dividing the work up into chapters and naming the chapters, and revis ing the proofs for press. All the rest, and by far the most important part, of the work has been done by her whose name appears on the title page.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Forgotten Books
• Release date: Nov 6, 2017

Karl Marx

Described as one of the most influential figures in human history, Karl Marx was a German philosopher and economist who wrote extensively on the benefits of socialism and the flaws of free-market capitalism. His most notable works, Das Kapital and The Communist Manifesto (the latter of which was co-authored by his collaborator Friedrich Engels), have since become two of history’s most important political and economic works. Marxism—the term that has come to define the philosophical school of thought encompassing Marx’s ideas about society, politics and economics—was the foundation for the socialist movements of the twentieth century, including Leninism, Stalinism, Trotskyism, and Maoism. Despite the negative reputation associated with some of these movements and with Communism in general, Marx’s view of a classless socialist society was a utopian one which did not include the possibility of dictatorship. Greatly influenced by the philosopher G. W. F. Hegel, Marx wrote in radical newspapers from his young adulthood, and can also be credited with founding the philosophy of dialectical materialism. Marx died in London in 1883 at the age of 64.