From: John Holloway (johnholloway@PRODIGY.NET.MX)
Date: Wed Jun 20 2007 - 19:02:52 EDT
Very, very many thanks for all the replies. That is very helpful. John El 19/6/07 22:47, "Rakesh Bhandari" <bhandari@BERKELEY.EDU> escribió: >> 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 > > http://www.generation-online.org/p/fpalthusser11.htm > > If I said that I was mistaken. Althusser recommends beginning with Part II, > chapter 4. Korsch said to begin with Chapter 7, though it would not serve as > a good description of a wafer production facility or an automated assembly > line! > > http://www.marxists.org/archive/korsch/19xx/introduction-capital.htm > > >> That is why I want to recommend to the beginner an approach that diverges >> somewhat from Marx's advice on a suitable start for the ladies (wherein we >> may sense a certain deference to the prejudices of his own time!). I hope >> that the approach I recommend will enable the reader to attain a full >> understanding of Capital just as readily, or even more readily than if he >> were to begin with the difficult opening chapters. >> It is best, I think, to begin with a thorough perusal of Chapter 7 on 'The >> Labour Process and the Process of Producing Surplus-value'. There are, it is >> true, a number of preliminary difficulties to be overcome, but these are all >> internal to the matter in hand, and not due, as are many difficulties in the >> preceding chapters, to a really rather unnecessary artificiality in the >> presentation. What is said here refers directly and immediately to palpable >> realities, and in the first instance to the palpable reality of the human >> work process. We encounter straightaway a clear and stark presentation of an >> insight essential for the proper understanding of Capital - the insight that >> this real-life work process represents, under the present regime of the >> capitalist mode of production, not only the production of use-values for >> human eventually through the difficult parts as well as the simpler passages >> of the book should save this part up until he really does come to the end of >> Part 7, for Part 8 was intended by Marx as a final crowning touch to his >> work. > > > Now that all this is all on line I can see that I spent way too much of my > limited resources buying copies of all these books! > > In the course of our discussions Fred Moseley said I think that chapter 7 is > the most important chapter. Obviously an intriguing position but he did not > elaborate. > > Yours, Rakesh > > > >
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