Marx’s Capital. An Unfinished and Unfinishable Project?

Conference, 10-11 October 2014, Amsterdam, Netherlands

All of Marx’s previously unpublished economic manuscripts have now become available in the Marx-Engels-Gesamtausgabe (MEGA), the historical-critical edition of the complete writings of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. It now becomes clear that Marx’s Capital was an unfinished project for good reasons. Marx was constantly exploring new subjects, revising his earlier results, and reformulating Capital’s first volume in several editions after it had been published in 1867. The manuscripts also reveal how Engels compiled volumes 2 and 3 of Capital after Marx’s death: which fragments he did not use, and how he combined or split up manuscripts that he did use. All of this makes it possible and necessary to seriously reconsider Marx’s critique of political economy.

As a first exploration of the insights to be gained from the economic manuscripts in the MEGA, the International Institute of Social History in Amsterdam (which keeps most of Marx and Engels’s archive) and the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (which edits the MEGA) organize a conference on Marx’s Capital. An Unfinished and Unfinishable Project? (Amsterdam, October 9-11, 2014). The working language of the programme will be English; the detailed programme is given below.

If you wish to attend the conference, please contact Ineke Kellij (ike@iisg.nl). A place cannot be guaranteed as seating is limited, but you will be notified whether a place is available. The conference (October 10-11) is underfunded. We therefore require a financial contribution from participants: € 10.00 per day for students and jobless, and € 90.00 per day for all others. Participants may register through payment to IISG, Deutsche Bank 41.13.90.805; IBAN NL63DEUT0411390805; BLC DEUTNL2N, mentioning “Marx 2305”.

Marx’s Capital. An Unfinished and Unfinishable Project?

Conference organized by the Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften and the International Institute of Social History

Conference location: International Institute of Social History, Cruquiusweg 31, Amsterdam, T. 0031-(0)20-668 5866; www.socialhistory.org).

Thursday, October 9, 2014, 20.00 hrs

David Harvey: The new Marx-edition or, Why a fundamental revision of the dominant Marx-interpretation is necessary (Public lecture, with media presence, at De Balie, Kleine-Gartmanplantsoen 10, 1017 RR Amsterdam, T 0031 (0)20-553 5151; www.debalie.nl).

Friday, October 10, 2014

Gerald Hubmann: Introduction: Provisional results of the Marx-Engels-Gesamtausgabe

Regina Roth: Edition from the legacy: Friedrich Engels and Marx's Capital

Jorge Grespan: Comments

Lunch break

Fred Moseley: The tendential decline of the rate of profit

Timm Graßmann: Comments

Carl-Erich Vollgraf: Marx' weitere Arbeit am 'Kapital' nach dem Erscheinen von Band 1 (with English summary)

Heinz D. Kurz: Comments

Saturday, October 11, 2014

Michael Krätke: The crisis theory

Kenji Mori: Comments

Lunch break

Geert Reuten: The transformation of values into prices

Chris Arthur: Comments

Matthias Bohlender: The importance of the Manchester Excerpts

Lucia Pradella: Comments

Marcel van der Linden: Final remarks

http://socialhistory.org/en/events/marxs-capital-unfinished-and-unfinis…