The series of sessions is entitled “Alternatives to capitalism”. The first session is called “Capital and capitalism”. A brief look at the features of capitalism. Capital, wage-labour, profit, capital accumulation and its effect on our lives.This first session sets the scene and will allow us to contast proposed alternatives.

Main reading:

Ernst Mandel’s introduction to a Marxist analysis of capitalism, Chapters 1 and 2 of An Introduction to Marxist Economic Theory (1967)

Alfredo Saad-Filho (2003) looks at the recent anti-capitalist or anti-globalisation movement’s response to overcoming capitalism. See the introduction to a collection of papers written before the current economic crisis.

Fredy Perlman’s The Reproduction of Everyday Life is a classic text on alienation, commodity fetishism and wage labour.

Further reading:

A chapter from Harry Cleaver’s book Reading Capital Politically (2000) which stresses the struggle between capital and labour in the production of commodities.

For those interested in a summary of recent Marxist accounts of the current economic crisis see Joseph Choonara – ‘Marxist accounts of the current crisis‘, International Socialism, 123, Summer 2009.

For an interesting but quite technical take on Marx’s theory of value, credit and the circulation of commodities see Anders Ramsey Marx? Which Marx? This emphasises a social-relational approach to value.

All welcome, email uncaptiveminds@gmail.com for more info.