Capital #1 – The Commodity (Chapter 1)

Welcome to Red Book Club. We are a Marxist educational podcast
and study group challenging ourselves and each other to learn and
grow by analysing and breaking down a wide array of important
works.





In our inaugural episode we begin our exploration into
'Capital - Volume I' by Karl
Marx starting with 'Chapter I - The
Commodity'. In this episode Marx lays out some
foundational concepts and we discuss what exactly is a commodity,
as well as understanding 'use' and 'exchange' values and
'relative' and 'equivalent' forms of value.





This episode is part of our series on the epoch-defining
masterpiece 'Capital - Volume I' by Karl
Marx, a book which has helped change the face of our
world since its initial publication in 1867, giving inspiration
and clarity to hundreds of millions of working and colonised
people across the globe and providing the theoretical foundations
for socialist movements and revolutions from the time of its
publication until the present day. With painstaking dedication
Marx brought to light the previously obscured, inner-workings of
the capitalist mode of production, from the core concepts of the
commodity, value and exchange, through to the discovery of
surplus-value; from the historical beginnings of capitalism to
the colonial structures which still exist to this very day. It is
an unparraleled work of unimaginable profundity, and we hope that
our discussions can help contribute towards your understanding of
it.





"There is no royal road to science, and only those who do not
dread the fatiguing climb of its steep paths have a chance of
gaining its luminous summits." - Karl Marx.





Please note that these sessions were initially recorded for
self-reference as a study aid. As we continued and found that
there was an audience for our discussions, we took the
opportunity both to teach ourselves and to share skills meaning
that as you progress through our sessions you should find that
our episodes become more structured, better produced, cleaner
sounding and hopefully more enjoyable. Thank you for listening.





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