/edu/ - Education

The problem is, you're having ask people what they think is "unnecessary" from Capital that can be cut out to provide an abridged version, but everyone is going to have a different opinion, every sentence in the book is going to have its defenders and inevitably to get the full picture people would have to read the abridged version of Capital as well as the full version to say they've read Capital.

IMO, Capital is basically never mentioned as an introductory read for Communism due to its depth and complexity, as Engles said it's not a text for workers per se, but it is an academic book explaining the Marxist view of the capitalist Political Economy in as much detail as possible, so it doesn't need to be shortened to achieve that.

On the other hand, after Marx and Engles passed away, people did read and study Capital, they formed their own Marxist opinions based on it and wrote books, lots of them, often quoting Capital and other of Marx's texts that often do show up as introductory reads for Communism, that I think by the time a fledgling Communist decides to take on reading Capital, they've already had most of the concepts contained within utilised and explained by Lenin, Mao, Stalin, etc in ways that were intended for workers. Provided one isn't going head first into Capital, while long, it shouldn't be too difficult to follow if you've already been doing a lot of reading prior.

people don't read anymore. what we really need is a 3D open world version of capital

>>18833
Carlo Cafiero made a summary that was approved of by Marx
https://www.marxists.org/archive/cafiero/1879/summary-of-capital.htm

>>18836
thanks

>>18836
It still cites Capital extensively and it's pretty obvious it's mostly just a political pamphlet condensation of the most agitation intense bits of Capital. Also regarding the letter in OP, it's just an aside, and Engels never explains why he thinks this is "necessary".

>>18833
>writing a shorter Edition of Capital aimed at the working class.
Stalin ordered Soviet Economists to do exactly that in the 1930s, the result is the pdf ive attached its a great intro/summary to Marx's Capital and Lenin's Imperialism.

>>18839
Interesting title. I wonder how it compares to the subtitle of Capital volume 1.

>>18840
Dumb Pseud. Das Capital is a Critique of (Capitalist) Political Economy, this book is an intro to Marxist Political Economy.

>>18841
Why do I bother engaging with posts on here? Why has my life reached this depth?

>>18841
Lmao

>a shorter Edition of Capital
Already exists
<wage labour and capital
<value price and profit

There once were some children so small, Those who said, “We’ve had enough of it all!” They wanted more naptime, clean potties, and play-slime, longer recess and lunch-time, and no more bed-times!

These toddlers were oh so brave, Those who said, “We don’t want to behave!” They hated nappy-wappy and homework oh so crappy, And the recess that was too short and grave.

They schemed to dethrone the biggies, Who treated them like little piggies. "They think we are stupid little runts!" They proved them wrong, as the began planning their big, bold stunt.

They waited until nighty-night, And then they began their fight. They tiptoed out of their beds, And put on their dark threads, And marched towards the school with all their might.

They marched with their rattles and toys, They made a lot of cheerful noise. They screamed together from outside to the biggies, “Give us your all wiggies, And stop treating us like your piggies!”

They found the biggies in a powwow, And gave them a very loud wow-wow. They said, “We’re the boss now, You have to kowtow, And do what we say or we will pow-pow!”

The toddlers were happy and proud, They cheered and they danced and they clowned. They had no more naps, Or homework traps, Or recess that was too short and grounddown.

The little kiddies were fun and free, They shared everything equally. They had clean potties galore, And big cookies and long nappies and more, And lived in a world full of glee!

>>18845
nice GPTpost

>>18844
prequel

Yes, “simplifying” one of the foremost works ever made so you can slide in liberalism and revisionism is bad actually

>>18848
i'm going to simplify you by beating you upside the head with a shovel but i won't need to slide any revisionism and liberalism into you because it's already there

>>18836
i found this "libcom" article criticizing cafiero's summary for being poorly translated (English) and for getting some of the math wrong (original Italian)

https://libcom.org/article/cafiero-and-marx-capital-nutshell

but more interesting was the year long argument in the comments lol