A People’s Guide to Capitalism: An Introduction to Marxist Economics

Reviews

• Wed, Sep 9, 2020

  A People’s Guide to Capitalism is a solid introduction to Marx's economic theory that is both succinct and accessible to those who aren't familiar with the concepts. The book follows Marx's argument in Capital (mostly volumes 1 and 3), and so could be read as a summary of Capital or concurrently with it. It's particularly good at connecting Marx's insights to contemporary subjects like bitcoin, theories of mainstream economics, the housing crisis, financial capital, and Covid-19—thus proving Marx's ongoing relevance. For me, it falls short in just a few places: not relating Marx's economic concepts back to his crucial dialectical method (something David Harvey does well in A Companion to Marx's Capital), and overlooking Marx's ultimate communist horizon. The last point, coupled with a handful of denigrating comments on the economies of socialist states, makes Marx feel oddly disconnected from the last century of political struggle. All in all, the book is a great guide to the complex and technical details of Marx's economic writings, which show that we need not just a robust moral critique of capitalism but a scientific theory of how it works and how to challenge its dominance. I wrote a more in-depth review of this book here.