Interestingly, there are passages in 'Das Kapital' or in 'The Communist Manifesto' where he talks about the global triumph of capitalism that will lead to the demise of all remnants of time-honored and feudal traditions. At the core of his theory, he underestimated other sources of wealth, namely innovation, entrepreneurship and technical progress. But he overlooked the fact that capitalism does not function by exploiting workers, but through continual technical progress. To him, work was the only source of value. I think his whole theory is based on an error in reasoning. And he prophesied the victory of communism. Read more: Raoul Peck premieres his new film on Karl Marxĭuring his lifetime Marx had been expecting the collapse of capitalism. When Karl Marx wrote 'Das Kapital,' he had two aims: he wanted to disprove one of the core points of classical economic theory, and he wanted to create a theoretical foundation for the overthrow of capitalism. But the main thesis of 'Das Kapital' is, in fact, that workers are exploited, that there is no way out, the only solution being a revolution. Yes, you could say that, although 'Das Kapital' is an incredibly far-reaching work. Is this a rough outline of 'Das Kapital'? Bernd Ziesemer, a market liberal and Karl Marx expert Image: M. But one day this exploitation becomes so intolerable that workers rebel and capitalism is overthrown.

Capitalists try to keep wages as low as possible in order to maximize this surplus value. The difference between the value that a worker has created and his wage is the surplus value.

In school in China, I learned that workers sell their labor to capitalists and receive a wage for it. Read more: Why a Marx monument is still controversial in Germany

At the time I told the publisher that I am probably one of the few people in Germany who have read the main works of Karl Marx twice. Later I turned into a liberal and conservative, and always wanted to have another look at the books I had read in my youth. In my youth I was not a market liberal, but a communist, and at that time I read Karl Marx with the ideological glasses of the left. How did that happen?īernd Ziesemer: There are two reasons. And of all people, you as a free-marketeer, took on Karl Marx. DW : In 2012, the FAZ published a series of books which were meant to help ordinary readers understand some of the most important economists of the past.

Das kapital karl marx