Theories of Surplus Value

Theories of Surplus Value back to manuscripts of Karl Marx; they were posthumously (Volumes MEW 1.26 to 3.26 ) published in 1905 to 1910 in a trilogy with a total of 24 chapters.

Edition history

1950 were presented for discussion in the Soviet Union, the principles for the new edition and a detailed table of contents. The German edition is based on the Institut concerned for Marxism-Leninism of the Central Committee of the CPSU second Russian edition (Russian edition Part 1 1954 Part 2 1950 Part 3 1961). The following information is based on the preface to the German edition, which is signed by the Institute of Marxism -Leninism of the Central Committee of the SED.

Basis of this publication is the comprehensive economic manuscript that Karl Marx has written from January 1862 to July 1863. It consists of 23 booklets with continuous page numbering 1-1472 and comprises a total of 200 signatures. It is the sequel to the 1859 published the first issue to the Critique of Political Economy and the same title. Thus, it is the first systematic, although not worked out all the details, design of capital, ie the main economic work of Marx. While the other parts of the manuscript correspond to the contents of the capital, ( circumference approx 110 signatures ) form the " Theories of Surplus Value" with the Staple VI to XV and XVIII as well as some historical sketches in other booklets which the most elaborate content. Marx called this " fourth band" of the historic capital, the historical-critical or historical- literary part of his work.

Marx changed over the many years in which he worked in the capital, multiples its work plan. He expressed this in prefaces, letters, or in the manuscript itself It emerges that were originally " The production process of capital " thought " Theories of Surplus Value" more than historical digression to the section. When Marx began working on it, only that portion of the capital in the draft was elaborated. From this historical situation, many redundancies in Marx's presentation explained.

Theories of Surplus Value contain essentially a collection of quotations bourgeois economists - such as, among others, Adam Smith ( and Others III, IV, X, . Chapter XIV ), David Ricardo ( inter alia, IX, X. . , XI. , XIII. , XV. , XVI. , XVII. , XVIII. ) James Mill and John Stuart Mill (XXth ), Johann Karl Rodbertus ( VIII & IX. ), Thomas Robert Malthus ( XIX ), or economic schools as the Physiocrats ( II ), in particular also in the work " Tableau économique " of François Quesnay (VI. chapter) - which illuminate the state of economic knowledge to the lifetime of Marx, as in Volume I of Capital, and critically consider.

Friedrich Engels, after Marx's death the publication of the second and third volume of Capital also intended to publish the fourth volume, which he speaks in his letter to Stephan Bauer of 10 April 1895, the last time. Four months later he died.

First published by Karl Kautsky

For the first time issued "Theories of Surplus Value " by Karl Kautsky from the estate of Marx.

So meritorious has also been this first release, so it will not meet the demands of a scholarly edition. This was all the more serious as it is an unedited rough draft in the Marxian basis, often without delete it and with lots of great information for later processing. In addition, the author constantly changes between three languages. There are therefore many unclear points that have multiple possible interpretations. Kautsky, however, published "his" Theories of Surplus Value as a parallel work to the capital, tried the text without regard to the original smooth and also gave before did not want to see an order or structure as a whole. He ignored the on the covers of books by Marx wrote of contents and himself led an arbitrary order, which reconstructed relationships torn.

Fourth volume of "Capital "?

In the subtitle of Marx- Engels -Werke the published manuscript is referred to as Capital Volume IV. One group of authors has been questioned because of the history of manuscripts, whether this term could be applied justly. It is unproven that the unfinished manuscript fully complied with the ideas of the author hinblicklich of the fourth volume, which should provide a history of political economy.

Reception

Joseph A. Schumpeter has resorted to his contribution to the plan of the Social Economy, the epochs of dogmas and methods History ( 1914), in addition to Eugen Böhm Bawerk's history and critique of capital theories of interest, mainly due to the Kautsky edition of Theories of Surplus Value.

Expenditure

• MEW 26.1-26.3
• MEGA, Abt II, Vol 3.2-3.4