Top Marxist concepts to learn

[UnknownPerson]

I currently don't have enough time to read Das Kapital. I'm familiar with several major concepts of Marx' critique of capitalism, but I'm not sure if I'm familiar with all of them.

What are the top Marxist concepts to learn, ranked by the priority, from top to bottom?

[Aurora]

I'm not sure if you can divide marxism into 'concepts' as such, it's all interconnected and part of the whole.
It'd be easy to say go learn the materialist conception of history, go learn economics or go learn dialectics but these are massive subjects and can't be understood in isolation, if you focus on any individual part your probably likely to miss the whole.

Sorry if that's not very useful, just my 2c

[scarletghoul]

I agree with Anarion, though imo it is possible to outlline the most important ideas of marxism.

Engels said, iirc, that marx's two great discoveries were the materialist conception of history and surplus value.

Also this is a great summary of the ideas in Kapital http://www.revleft.com/vb/marx-39-s-t41211/index.html worth reading

[svenne]

At least in Capital, Marx uses a model where the second chapter is built on the first, and the third on the second (and first) - and that pretty much to the end. It's propably a bit better to read a book or two which gives you a overview of the "whole" of marx' theory, than understanding a couple of concepts. Reading the real deal (three volumes of Capital) is propably the best, and i'm pretty sure you'll get time to do it in the future.

[UnknownPerson]

I'm not sure if you can divide marxism into 'concepts' as such, it's all interconnected and part of the whole.
It'd be easy to say go learn the materialist conception of history, go learn economics or go learn dialectics but these are massive subjects and can't be understood in isolation, if you focus on any individual part your probably likely to miss the whole.

Sorry if that's not very useful, just my 2c

Sorry, I should've mentioned economic concepts. I'm already familiar with the non-economic concepts to a great extent, but not so much with the economic concepts, although I'm familiar with the surplus value, overproduction, socially necessary labor time, labor theory of value, etc.

[S.Artesian]

1.Capital

2. wage-labor

3. antagonism between labor and the conditions of labor

4. surplus value-- valorisation

5. constant capital

6. variable capital

7. fixed capital

8. circulating capital


9. cost price

10. price of production

11. expanded reproduction

[Tim Finnegan]

I'd recommend that you watch Brendan M Cooney's Youtube series (http://www.youtube.com/user/brendanmcooney). It covers the poinst listed by S. Artesian very well for beginners like you and I.

[Tommy4ever]

I'd recommend that you watch Brendan M Cooney's Youtube series (http://www.youtube.com/user/brendanmcooney). It covers the poinst listed by S. Artesian very well for beginners like you and I.

Great find!

[thesadmafioso]

I would recommend that you look into the details of dialectical materialism, a concept which deals with a multitude of different elements involved in the dissemination of Marxist theory. Here are a few pieces that I would suggest as starting points.

http://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/1939/12/abc.htm

http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/althusser/1963/unevenness.htm

[gendoikari]

1.Capital

2. wage-labor

3. antagonism between labor and the conditions of labor

4. surplus value-- valorisation

5. constant capital

6. variable capital

7. fixed capital

8. circulating capital


9. cost price

10. price of production

11. expanded reproduction

expanded reproduction? Is that anything like free love?

[thesadmafioso]

expanded reproduction? Is that anything like free love?

Not at all. Free economic love perhaps, but I feel like that might be involve a slight bit of inference on the intent of Marx.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reproduction_(economics)