THE DIALECTIC OF MARX'S C A P I T A L AND TODAY'S GLOBAL
CRISIS
AT EACH NEW CRISIS POINT and period of transition, Marx's work has
taken on
new importance. This remains so today. The 150th anniversary of the
Communist Manifesto has led to new discussions of Marx worldwide,
with
workers and intellectuals feeling a shock of recognition over the
importance of Marx for understanding today's globalized capitalism.
The economic meltdown in East Asia, Russia, and parts of Latin
America and
the possibility that it might spread to the entire world economy has
likewise led to renewed interest in Marx's greatest theoretical
work,
Capital. However, many of these discussions have viewed Marx without
regard
for the dialectical philosophy and humanism which informed all of
his work.
This series of meetings takes a different approach, by exploring
Capital in
light of Hegel's dialectic and the freedom struggles of our time. We
aim to
speak to a new generation of thinkers and activists who are
searching for
an alternative to both "free market" capitalism and the
state-capitalism
that once called itself Communism. Returning to Marx's Capital with
eyes of
Hegel's dialectic can open new doors to projecting a concept of a
new,
human society which is demanded by today's forces of liberation.
THESE MEETING CENTER ON READINGS of select chapters of Capital, as
well as
writings on it by Raya Dunayevskaya, the founder of Marxist-Humanism
in the
U.S. The philosopher Louis Dupré once said of her, "I doubt whether
any
commentator since Jean Hyppolite has succeeded better in a Hegelian
reading
of Capital." To help explore the dialectical underpinnings of
Capital, the
readings also include her "Rough Notes on Hegel's Science of Logic,"
which
are being published over four issues of News & Letters.
Each meeting will consist of brief presentations followed by free
and open
discussion. No prior knowledge of Capital or the work of Marx and He
gel is
necessary. Admission is free. Copies of all reading material, as
well as a
list of supplemental readings by various thinkers on Capital, is
available
from News and Letters Committees.
For a syllabus and a schedule of classes, contact the News and
Letters
Committee nearest to you (See below).
CLASS 1 //////
THE ORIGIN OF CAPITAL: MARX'S RE-CREATION OF HEGEL'S DIALECTIC
This meeting discusses the origin and development of Marx's Capital,
and
especially the impact of the Civil War in the U.S. and the struggle
for a
shorter working day upon the restructuring of his greatest
theoretical
work. We will explore how, instead of placing limits on what Marx
called
"the power of abstraction," his integrating of revolutionary
subjects into
his analysis of the law of motion of capitalism helped unchain the
power of
revolutionary thought itself.
CLASS 2 //////
THE PHENOMENON OF CAPITALISM: THE COMMODITY-FORM
This meeting focuses on the most difficult, controversial, and
important
chapter in Capital-"The Commodity." Of foremost importance,
especially in
light of today's high-tech, fully commodified society, is the
section "The
Fetishism of Commodities." The readings for this meeting can greatly
aid
comprehension of the fundamental phenomenon of capitalism which
contains,
in embryo, the whole of its contradictions.
CLASS 3 //////
THE ESSENCE OF CAPITALISM (I): THE LABOR PROCESS
This meeting focuses on the essence of capitalism- the labor process
and on
the production of what Marx called "absolute surplus value." We will
explore such aspects of Capital as the chapter on "The Working Day,"
which
is where Marx also discusses the conditions and struggles of working
women.
CLASS 4 //////
THE ESSENCE OF CAPITALISM (II): THE LABOR PROCESS AND THE
TRANSFORMATION OF
THE VALUE OF LABOR POWER INTO WAGES
This meeting continues the focus on the essence of capitalism, the
labor
process, by exploring what Marx called "relative surplus value." It
also
takes up Marx's theory of wages, one of his three original
contributions to
the critique of political economy, along with the split in the
concept of
labor and the treatment of surplus value independently of profit.
CLASS 5 //////
THE NOTION OF CAPITALISM: THE ABSOLUTE GENERAL LAW OF CAPITALIST
ACCUMULATION
This meeting focuses on the absolute general law of capitalist
accumulation- the concentration and centralization of capital at one
pole
and the socialization of labor at the other, from which spring "new
passions and new forces for the reconstruction of society." In
exploring
the "Absolute" of capitalist society, this meeting also has us
return, on
higher ground, to chapter 1 of Capital itself.
CLASS 6 //////
THE LOGIC OF CAPITALIST CRISIS: OVERPRODUCTION, 'UNDERCONSUMPTION,'
OR
MARX'S CONCEPT OF THE TENDENTIAL FALL IN THE RATE OF PROFIT?
This meeting focuses on the dialectic and humanism of Vols. II and
III of
Capital, which has long served as the arena of debate in the radical
movement over the cause and consequences of capitalist crisis, the
relation
between capitalism and imperialism/racism, and the kinds of human
relations
needed to transcend class society.
>>CHICAGO<<
All classes on Sundays at 6:30 p.m.
News & Letters Library, 59 E. Van Buren St., Room 707, Chicago Loop.
Call 312 663 0839
Class 1 March 14
Class 2 March 28
Class 3 April 11
Class 4 April 18
Class 5 May 2
Class 6 May 16
>>NEW YORK<<
All classes on Sundays at 6:30 p.m.
133 West 4th St., parlor of Parish House of Washington Square
Church,
between Ave. of Americas (6th Ave.) and Wash. Sq. Park (near all
trains)
Call 212 663 3631
Class 1 March 21
Class 2 April 4
Class 3 April 11
Class 4 April 25
Class 5 May 9
Class 6 May 23
>>SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA<<
Call 510 658 1448
>>DETROIT/FLINT<<
Contact News & Letters, P.O. Box 27205, Detroit MI 48227
>>MEMPHIS/MISSISSIPPI<<
Contact News & Letters, 1910 Madison Ave, #59, Memphis, TN 38104
>>LOS ANGELES<<
Contact News & Letters, P.O. BOX 29194, Los Angeles, CA 90029
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"Human Power Is Its Own End."--Karl Marx
News and Letters Committees / NEWS & LETTERS
59 E. Van Buren Ave., Room 707, Chicago IL 60605, USA
www.newsandletters.org
nandl@igc.apc.org