Marx's 'Capital'

'This expert guide to the political economy of Marx's Capital has always been the very best available' - David Harvey

This brilliantly concise book is the classic companion to Karl Marx's most well-known work, Capital. In print now for over a quarter of a century, and translated into many languages, this new edition has been fully revised and updated, making it an ideal modern introduction to one of the most important texts in political and economic thought today.

The authors cover all central aspects of Marx's economics. They explain the structure of Marx's analysis and the meaning of the key categories in Capital, showing the internal coherence of Marx's approach, and their relevance today. Marx's method and terminology are explored in detail, with supporting examples. Short chapters set out the significance of Marx's main concepts and can be grasped easily, making it a practical text for anyone with an interest in understanding Marx's magnum opus.

Discussing Capital's relevance today, the authors keep abstract theorising to a minimum. This readable introduction highlights the continuing relevance of Marx's ideas in the light of the problems of contemporary capitalism.

Ben Fine is Professor of Economics at SOAS, University of London. He is the author of the critical texts, Macroeconomics and Microeconomics (Pluto, 2016), co-author of Marx's 'Capital' (Pluto, 2016) and co-editor of Beyond the Developmental State (Pluto, 2013). He was awarded both the Deutscher and Myrdal Prizes in 2009. Ben Fine is Emeritus Professor of Economics at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, and Visiting Professor, Wits School of Governance, University of Witwatersrand, South Africa. He has published over thirty books (one of which won the Deutscher Prize and another the Myrdal Prize) and three hundred articles. He is the founding Chair of IIPPE (the International Initiative for Promoting Political Economy) and has acted as economic advisor to many organisations. He is an acknowledged international authority across fields such as Marxist political economy, history of economic thought, heterodox economics, economics imperialism, social capital, social choice theory, development economics and studies, the British economy and coal industry, consumption studies and South Africa. Alfredo Saad-Filho is Professor of Political Economy and International Development in the Department of International Development. Previously, he was Professor of Political Economy at SOAS University of London and Senior Economic Affairs Officer at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (2011-12). Alfredo was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Medal from the Federal University of Goiás, Brazil in 2014 and the SOAS Director’s Teaching Prize in 2016. His academic publications include Marx's Capital, Neoliberalism: A Reader, Anti-Capitalism: A Marxist Introduction and Brazil: Neoliberalism versus Democracy, and has produced numerous reports as well and other contributions for the United Nations and other international agencies. Alfredo Saad Filho is Professor of International Political Economy at Queen’s University Belfast, Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Johannesburg (South Africa), Visiting Professor at LUT University (Finland), Visiting Professor at Università degli Studi della Campania ‘Luigi Vanvitelli’ (Italy), Senior Associate Researcher at the University of Brasília (Brazil) and Professorial Research Associate at SOAS University of London (UK). He was Senior Economic Affairs Officer at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), in Geneva. He has taught in universities and research institutions in Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Finland, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mozambique, South Africa, Switzerland and the UK. His publications include 18 books, 80 journal articles, 60 book chapters, and 30 reports for UN and other international agencies.