Wage Labour and Capital & Value, Price and Profit

“Wage Labour and Capital” (1849) and “Value, Price and Profit” (1898) are two texts by Karl Marx that introduce some of the most fundamental elements of his critique of capitalism. Both texts were originally delivered as lectures intended for a broad, “popular” audience. The former was first published in a newspaper Marx had founded in Germany called Neue Rheinische Zeitung, while the latter was published posthumously by his daughter, Eleanor, and her husband Edward Aveling. Given their intent was to educate and galvanize a general audience, the accessibility of these texts makes them a popular pairing when introducing or teaching Marx’s ideas to people for the first time. As with many of Marx’s works, they attempt to analyze, critique, and explain the workings of capitalism from a perspective outside of the capitalist class. Together, “Wage Labour and Capital” and “Value, Price and Profit” argue that capitalism not only alienates and exploits workers, but that bourgeois ideology obfuscates the true nature of the relationship between workers and capitalists.

This guide is based on the editions freely accessible from Marxists.org.

Summary

In “Wage Labour and

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