On the Critical Dimensions of Marxian Political Economy

Marx often reflects on his place within the history of philosophy and, more broadly, the history of social development. His is a critique of the total system and of the various forms that reveal it when comprehended as parts of a whole. This involves approaching the defining social relation of the epoch—that between labor and capital—through the unavoidable detours posed by its manifestations, and also the misapprehensions that attend these. The object of this essay will be to unpack the critical subtext of Marx’s notes on political economy so as to see how, cloaked in the very language of economists and socialists alike, Marx contends that the true content of certain categories constitutes a political task. To this end, I will study the first notebook of the Grundrisse, which analyzes the concept of money, as well as the early Ökonomisch-philosophische Manuskripte that address the specific implications of production under capitalism