I appreciate anyone taking the time to work through Marx, which is a demanding task. But in the spirit of comradely criticism, I have to say that I found this essay difficult to follow. The analysis began with close reading and analysis of a particular passage, but the application was muddled, probably because you are addressing several distinct problems in rapid succession without devoting enough time to setting them up and signposting your arguments. Are we talking about the falling rate of profit, increased productivity, or stagnating wages, or rising real wages (and btw does Marx use or help us understand the concept of “real wages”?). That said, I look forward to future essays in this series.
I appreciate anyone taking the time to work through Marx, which is a demanding task. But in the spirit of comradely criticism, I have to say that I found this essay difficult to follow. The analysis began with close reading and analysis of a particular passage, but the application was muddled, probably because you are addressing several distinct problems in rapid succession without devoting enough time to setting them up and signposting your arguments. Are we talking about the falling rate of profit, increased productivity, or stagnating wages, or rising real wages (and btw does Marx use or help us understand the concept of “real wages”?). That said, I look forward to future essays in this series.
Tyler, I appreciate the subscription and the comradely criticism.
The short answer is to your question is: “Yes! We are talking about all those things.” 😊
I’ll follow up next week with a Part 2 to this essay to further elaborate on and clarify some of those connections.
Thanks!