From: Michael Heinrich (m.heinrich@PROKLA.DE)
Date: Wed Jun 20 2007 - 13:58:22 EDT
In the first edition of "Capital" (1867) there are two presentations of the value form: one inside chapter 1 (which in the first edition includes ch. 1-3 of the later editions) and one in the appendix. In the preface Marx recommended to the reader "who is not familiar with dialectical thinking" to skip the presentation of value form anlysis in chapter 1 and to read the appendix. He didn't recommend to skip the whole chapter 1. After "Capital" had appeared in 1867, his friend Ludwig Kugelmann asked Marx, how his wife should read "Capital". Marx answered in a letter from November 30, 1867 Kugelmann may recommend to his wife to read at first the section about the "working day", then about "Cooperation, division of labour and machinery" and finally the section about "primitive accumulation". Other recommendations of Marx about reading "Capital" I do not know. But it would be extremely strange if he had recommended to skip chapter 1 after he had spent so much time of reworking the material of this chapter. Michael Riccardo Bellofiore schrieb: > Chris, > > I think we all agree on what you remind us: anyhow, I agree. > > The point discussed is, I think, if Marx ever could have thought of > giving the reader the advice to skip the first chapters. I strongly > doubt that. > > But I am intrigued by the point about Marx advice about the chapter > order to "ladies" . Do you know something about that? > > Probably you know Oscar Wilde, "The importance of being Earnest", > where "Mrs Prism instructed her pupil Cecily that in reading her > manual in political economy, 'The chapter on the Fall of the Rupee > you may omit. It is somewhat too sensational.' > > riccardo > > At 16:23 +0100 20-06-2007, Christopher Arthur wrote: > >> We know why he did not begin with ch 7: > >> >> 'In order to develop the concept of capital it is necessary to begin >> not with labour but with value, or, more precisely, with exchange >> value already developed in the movement of circulation.' > >> (MEGA II/3.1 p. 28; CW 30 p. 20.) > >> >> Chris A > >> 17 Bristol Road > >> Brighton > >> BN2 1AP > >> On 20 Jun 2007, at 01:17, John Holloway wrote: > >> >>> A request for help. >> >>> >>> I think someone on this list (Rakesh, perhaps?) made a comment once >>> about >> >>> Althusser advising people to start reading Capital from ch.7. Is >>> this right? >> >>> Does anyone have a reference, or even a quote? >> >>> >>> Many thanks if you can help me on this. >> >>> >>> John >> > > >-- > > > Riccardo Bellofiore > Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche > "Hyman P. Minsky" > Università di Bergamo > Via dei Caniana 2 > I-24127 Bergamo, Italy > e-mail: riccardo.bellofiore@unibg.it > direct +39-035-2052545 > secretary +39-035 2052501 > fax: +39 035 2052549 > homepage: http://www.unibg.it/pers/?riccardo.bellofiore
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