Introduction to Marxist Economic Theory

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Summary: Laboring Masses v. Ruling Classes
Review: A remarkable little book that breaks down and makes crystal clear complex terms: surplus labor, necessary labor, necessary product, surplus product, surplus value, use value, exchange value, commodities, law of value, labor theory of value, etc.
See how despite huge differences in social systems from slavery to feudalism to capitalism, a key fundamental is consistent: most of the value produced by toilers is ceded to a parasitic ruling class. According to the author, that will change only when the laboring masses ourselves become the ruling class. Read this introduction and then read Marx's Wage Labor and Capitol as well as his Value, Price and Profit.

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Summary: Workers make the best students of economics
Review: Many of us have heard the boss accuse ourselves or other workers of "stealing from the company" by taking an unauthorized break. We suspect that this reasoning is bogus, but how can we describe it from a scientific point of view? This is one of the questions that Marx took up and that Mandel summarizes very succinctly in this book. Why does the boss come out the winner when workers have to work overtime or when so-called labor saving devices are introduced into the workplace? This is another question that Mandel analyzes simply and accurately. In fact, Mandel provides an authoritative outline of Marxist economic theory, from the labor theory of value to what causes worldwide unemployment, depression, and war. Reading this book will help you become a more conscious fighter for our class.

Rating:
Summary: A Modern Classic
Review: This is probably the world's most read primer in orthodox Marxist economic theory - and deservedly so. It flawlessly covers all 'the basics': the theory of value and surplus value (ch.1); capital and capitalism [historical bacground, and basic dynamics] (ch.2); and neo-capitalism [role of the state & war] (ch.3). It does all this in tight, non-technical style. For this reason it is THE starting point for the uninitiated. It is important to note, however, that it cannot be more than it's title suggests: an introduction. It does not deal with the criticisms of Marx's theory of value in any depth. Also, it reveals not only its age, and how times have changed by what is emphasises AND what it ignores. In the case of what it emphasises: much is made of the importance of the cold war as a necessary phenomenon. In the case of what it ignores: it understandably says nothing of post-Fordism, ecological concerns, or the emergence of non-socialist oppositional 'social movements' (such as feminism, environmentalism and multiculturalism). These criticisms are hardly relevant to a book such as this: its central goal is to outline the essential message in Marx's 'Das Kapital', and to show (in ch.3) how this message can be applied (with some inevitable modification) to explain (then) current politico-economic events.

Rating:
Summary: How the system really works
Review: Workers are the ones who produce value. Bosses produce essentially nothing. The profits that bosses make are stolen from the workers This is a central insight of Marxist economics that this book does a good job of explaining. It also has an interesting discussion of "neo-capitalism" which is the form of capitalism that arose after World War II--capitalism that needed massive government intervention to survive. Mandel shows how war spending allows capitalism to avoid major depressions and how social programs blunt the effects of economic crisis on the workers, and thereby postpone revolutionary situations. It's especially interesting to read this book now, thirty years after it was written, since it makes a point of saying that the post-World War II prosperity would not last forever. It didn't and we've now entered a period of history where world economic depression, the rise of fascist movements, and attacks on social programs like welfare, social security, unemployment compensation, etc. are the norm. Mandel's book helps make sense of this miserable system so that we can chart a way forward to destroy it.

Rating:
Summary: How the system really works
Review: Workers are the ones who produce value. Bosses produce essentially nothing. The profits that bosses make are stolen from the workers This is a central insight of Marxist economics that this book does a good job of explaining. It also has an interesting discussion of "neo-capitalism" which is the form of capitalism that arose after World War II--capitalism that needed massive government intervention to survive. Mandel shows how war spending allows capitalism to avoid major depressions and how social programs blunt the effects of economic crisis on the workers, and thereby postpone revolutionary situations. It's especially interesting to read this book now, thirty years after it was written, since it makes a point of saying that the post-World War II prosperity would not last forever. It didn't and we've now entered a period of history where world economic depression, the rise of fascist movements, and attacks on social programs like welfare, social security, unemployment compensation, etc. are the norm. Mandel's book helps make sense of this miserable system so that we can chart a way forward to destroy it.