"Marx's Das Kapital cannot be put into a box marked 'economics.' It is a work of politics, history, economics, philosophy and even in places, literature (yes Marx's style is that rich and evocative). Marx's Das Kapital For Beginners is an introduction to the Marxist critique of capitalist production and its consequences for a whole range of social activities such as politics, media, education and religion. Das Kapital is not a critique of a particular capitalist system in a particular country at a particular time. Rather, Marxs aim was to identify the essential features that define capitalism, in whatever country it develops and in whatever historical period. For this reason, Das Kapital is necessarily a fairly general, abstract analysis. As a result, it can be fairly difficult to read and comprehend. At the same time, understanding Das Kapital is crucial for mastering Marx's insights to capitalism"--Page 4 of cover.;Introduction -- The commodity -- The exchange of commodities -- Circulation and the buying of labor-power -- Value -- Work under capitalism -- Reproduction and crises -- Commodity fetishism and ideology -- After capitalism?