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BOOKS
RECLAIMING MARX'S 'CAPITAL': A Refutation of the Myth of Inconsistency by Andrew Kliman
Reclaiming Marx’s ‘Capital’
Published by Lexington Books, a division of Rowman & Littlefield.
Part of Lexington's Raya Dunayevskaya Series in Marxism and Humanism.
250 pages, copyright 2007.
List Prices
Paperback: $26.95, £17.99, €28.33 (ISBN: 0-7391-1852-8)
Cloth: $65, £43, €67.73 (ISBN: 0-7391-1851-X)
Available for ONLY $22.91 from publisher:
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This book seeks to reclaim Capital from the myth of internal inconsistency, a myth that serves to justify the censorship of Marx’s critique of political economy and present-day research based upon it. Andrew Kliman shows that the alleged inconsistencies are actually caused by misinterpretation. Written especially for the non-specialist reader, with the bare minimum of mathematics, Reclaiming Marx’s “Capital” introduces readers to Marx’s value theory and contrasting interpretations of it, the history of the controversy, and interpretive standards and methods. Kliman then surveys Marx’s falling-rate-of-profit theory, the relationship of prices to values, Marx’s exploitation theory of profit, and other topics. The book ends with a discussion of why the myth of inconsistency persists, and a call to set the record straight.
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Endorsements:
“Authors of texts on Marxist economics tend to treat Marx as a distant basis upon which to build their own individual opinions. This al la carte approach stems from … acceptance of the supposed errors and internal inconsistency in Marx’s theory of value. In contrast, Reclaiming Marx's ‘Capital,’ by decisively refuting the allegations of error and internal inconsistency, returns Marx’s own work to centre stage. [It]is thus an important unifying work, rather than just another divisive personal opinion.”
— Nick Potts, Reader in Economics, Southampton Solent University
“In Reclaiming Marx’s ‘Capital,’ Kliman’s arguments – and it is largely a book of arguments – operate like a buzz saw clearing away the underbrush of misplaced criticisms that have kept the real Capital hidden from most of its potential readers. The project is much needed, and brilliantly and clearly (and for this reader, convincingly) executed. Highly recommended for all those who need Capital (and who doesn’t?).”
— Bertell Ollman, Professor of Politics, New York University
“It had to be done: someone has finally rescued Marx from the Marxists. If you want to come to grips with the most famous, most profound, and yet most-censored critique of capitalism yet seen; if you want access to the real ideas of the man who famously quipped ‘Me, I am not a Marxist’; and most of all, if you don't trust anyone or anything ‘til you've checked for yourself— then this is the place to start.”
— Alan Freeman, Department of Social Sciences, University of Greenwich
“[A]lmost everyone, orthodox and Marxian economists alike, [has] accepted the view that Marx’s value theory is internally inconsistent. … [This book] sorts out a bewildering tangle of approaches and issues in order to demonstrate that the charge of internal inconsistency is false. … Reclaiming Marx’s ‘Capital’ is a fresh attempt to get it right, in terms Marx himself would have recognized.”
— Thomas Jeannot, Professor of Philosophy, Gonzaga University
“This is the first comprehensive introduction to all aspects of the transformation ‘problem.’ It will become the standard reference work in the years to come. No serious work on value theory can afford to ignore it.”
— Guglielmo Carchedi, Department of Economics and Econometrics, University of Amsterdam (Ret.)
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Table of Contents
List of Tables and Figures
List of Abbreviations
Preface
1 Introduction: The Question of Internal Inconsistency
2 Marx's Value Theory and Contending Interpretations
3 A Brief History of the Controversy
4 Making Marx Make Sense: On Interpretive Method
5 Simultaneism, Physicalism, and the Law of Value
6 Was Marx a Simultaneist?
7 The Falling Rate of Profit Controversy
8 The "Transformation Problem" (1): Marx's Solution and Its Critics
9 The "Transformation Problem" (2): If It Ain't Broke, Don't Correct It
10 The "Fundamental Marxian Theorem"
11 An Empirical Defense of the Law of Value?
12 Summary and Conclusions
Bibliography
Index
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By David Black
"In Helen Macfarlane: A Feminist Revolutionary Journalist and Philosopher in Mid-Nineteenth Century England, David Black has done astute historical detective work to rescue from erasure a key figure in socialist history. Under the alias of "Howard Morton," Helen Macfarlane wrote the first English translation of The Communist Manifesto for the magazine The Red Republican. An active member of mid-nineteenth century British socialist circles, she contributed to the direction of radical dissent and the legacy of Chartism. Rich in detail, Black's book maps out some of the major debates in which Macfarlane was involved and offers a fascinating archive for anyone interested in the prehistory of British Hegelian thought." Rosemary Hennessey, author of Profit and Pleasure: Sexual Identities in Late Capitalism
"Helen Macfarlane was a truly remarkable figure: the first translator of The Communist Manifesto, an early socialist who discussed Hegel, Christianity, and revolution, and a merciless critic of all forms of domination, whether by class, race, or gender. She flickered briefly across British radicalism before disappearing from the historical record. Dave Black has done a marvelous job of excavation, contextualization, and careful analysis, giving us the first-ever book on Macfarlane's life and work. An additional merit of this volume is the reprinting of Macfarlane's sometimes very beautiful translation of the Manifesto." Kevin B. Anderson, co-editor of Marx on Suicide
Available from: http://www.amazon.com and