Wage-Labour and Capital by Karl Marx is an essential read for anyone interested in the complexities of the capitalist system. In this concise work, Marx lays out his analysis of the relationship between labor and capital, discussing the exploitation of workers and the accumulation of wealth by the capitalist class.

Marx demonstrates how capitalism operates to benefit the few at the expense of the many, arguing that the constant drive for profits leads to the degradation of labor and the alienation of workers. He also explores the concept of surplus value, highlighting how capitalists extract value from the labor of workers while paying them only a fraction of what they produce.

Despite being written in the 19th century, Marx's insights in Wage-Labour and Capital remain relevant today, offering a critical perspective on the economic system that continues to shape our world. This book serves as a powerful call to action for those who seek to challenge the status quo and strive for a more just and equitable society. Overall, Wage-Labour and Capital is a thought-provoking and important work that deserves a place on the bookshelf of anyone interested in understanding and transforming the dynamics of modern capitalism.

Book Description:

Orignally written as a series of newspaper articles in 1847, Wage-Labour and Capital was intended to give a short overview, for popular consumption, of Marx’s central threories regarding the economic relationships between workers and capitalists. These theories outlined include the Marxian form of the Labour Theory of Value, which distinguishes “labour” from “labour-power”, and the Theory of Concentration of Capital, which states that capitalism tends towards the creation of monopolies and the disenfranchisement of the middle and working classes. The Theory of Alienation, which describes a dehumanising effect of capitalist production, in which an immediate social signifcance of labour to the worker is absent, is also touched upon. These theories were later elaborated in Volume 1 of Capital, published in 1867.

This edition of Wage-Labour and Capital, published in 1891, was edited and translated by Friedrich Engels, and remains one of the most widely read of Marx’s works.

(Description by Carl Manchester).