Audiobook · read by volunteers
Wage-Labour and Capital
Karl Marx (1818–1883)
Read by Carl Manchester · 10 chapters · 1 h 42
About the book
Wage-Labour and Capital began as lectures given to workers in 1847 and was published in 1849 as a series of newspaper articles. It was meant to present Karl Marx's central ideas on the relationship between workers and capitalists in a form that ordinary readers could follow. Marx asks simple questions that lead to large ones: what are wages, how are they determined, and what does it mean that a worker sells his labour for a price? He goes on to describe the relation of wages to profit, the role of capital and the effect of competition and machinery on those who work for a living. The text is short and direct, and it was later prepared for publication with an introduction by Friedrich Engels, written for the 1891 edition. Ten sections, read by a single volunteer, last about one hour and forty minutes. It is a compact way to meet Marx's thought.
Introduction
Karl Marx, who lived from 1818 to 1883, was a German philosopher, economist and political thinker, and his analysis of capitalism has shaped debate about economics and society ever since. The text heard here began as lectures of 1847, appeared as newspaper articles in 1849, and came out in book form in 1891 with an introduction by Friedrich Engels.
Compared with the long and technical Capital, this work is brief and uses simple language. Engels, in his introduction, explains some of the changes made to the original wording so that it would match the more developed vocabulary of Marx's later economic writings. The result is a good first approach to the subject, which sets out the main ideas without the full apparatus of statistics and historical argument.
The recording has ten sections, starting with Engels's introduction and the preliminary remarks, and continuing through the questions of what wages are and how they are determined. It lasts about an hour and three quarters and is read by one LibriVox volunteer. Whether you are interested in the history of socialism or in the discussion of work and pay, this short text is a convenient and clear place to begin. The argument is useful for understanding later and larger works, and it also stands as an example of how Marx addressed a general audience. It is not a neutral account, since it was written to persuade, so it is best heard as a historical document that explains a point of view. The short length makes it an easy choice for a lunch break or a commute.
Public domain
Karl Marx died in 1883: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text