LSE Events | Prof. David Harvey | Marx, Capital and the Madness of Economic Reason

Recorded on 18 September 2017
If you would like to view this lecture with slides, please visit: • LSE Events | Prof. Dav...
Leading Marxist scholar David Harvey discusses the profound insights and enormous power Marx’s analysis continues to offer 150 years after the first volume of Capital was published. His latest book is Marx, Capital and the Madness of Economic Reason.
David Harvey (@profdavidharvey) is Distinguished Professor of Anthropology at the City University of New York Graduate School and an Honorary Graduate of LSE. His course on Marx’s Capital, developed with students over thirty years, has been downloaded by people from all over the world.
Hyun Bang Shin (@urbancommune) is Associate Professor of Geography and Urban Studies at LSE.
The LSE Department of Geography & Environment (@LSEGeography) is a center of international academic excellence in economic, urban and development geography, environmental social science and climate change.

[@davidcuarzo1986]

Gran aporte. Saludos desde España

[@hajarelkadaoui7989]

I love you Mr Harvey

[@julianandresescobaravila3406]

Thanks Mr Harvey.

[@ZOGGYDOGGY]

Capital is commodified wealth produced by labour. Labour produces capital in exchange for the price of skills (aka wages) in the marketplace of commodities. Price fluctuates around exchange- value--the socially necessary labour time embodied in the commodified good or service. Money is a commodity which is used for buying and selling commodified wealth. Unproductive labour IS addressed by Marx, especially in the Theories of Surplus Value. Unproductive labour is like that of maids and butlers who provide a use-value for the buyer but does not lead to the production of wealth for sale. All commodified wealth has a use-value. Use-value is found in the eye of the beholder. If you want to get rid of capitalism, you have to abolish wage labour. Read "Value, Price and Profit".

[@felroberto]

Mike Ballard good summary

[@StephenSchleis]

Not if you get rid of Capital through discussion in cooperatives, after all businesses are 100% democratically run (individually, de-centralized) then through discussion and reason the distribution of wealth through wages will be abolished. It’s logical human interaction through liberty of decisions. We are living in a world that has never seen democracy, only the illusion of democracy by the lie of political democracy, which can not exist without economic democracy.

[@gijs-janbruil6738]

Thank you for the information! I think you are right. I am attending a course in political economy. I will make an extra note in my notebook, for purely private use and without, of course, mentioning your (internet) adres. You comment was most helpful!

[@gijs-janbruil6738]

Proposal: A still better succinct definition of Capital might be: 'Capital is commodified wealth produced by wáge-labour'. Although to the last I might add somthing like 'idealiter' or 'in the first place'. What do you think? Can you agree with this?

[@phatster88]

Slide: drive.google.com/file/d/1rj2T5NG8BfDXPpuEnevr-RrNN1iDDnJv/view?usp=sharing

[@davefroman4700]

We keep asking economists to answer technical problems. That is the issue. Let science measure what resources we have, how to best allocate those resources and make calculations based upon solving problems instead of merely perpetuating problems for profits. Our entire existence relies upon resources. And if we do not know how much we have to start off with, we cannot plan for a sustainable economy. We need a resource based economy, not a monetary based economy.

[@PoliticalEconomy101]

Kewl