Intro

Capitalism is a social phenomenon—yes, it is deeply grounded in concrete, material reality—but it’s a reality that ultimately relies on a series of tricks and spells, awash in deceit and veiled in subterfuge. 

What is capitalism, exactly? How does it function? Why are we seemingly trapped inside of it? And, perhaps most importantly, how can we break free? Well, in this episode we’re taking a very deep dive into the crowning achievement of a man who spent his entire adult life seeking answers to these questions. Karl Marx wrote Capital Vol. 1 over ten years, spending countless hours researching and redrafting this crucial text until it was finally published in 1867. It incorporates vast amounts of historical data, concrete examples, and brilliant theorizing and is ultimately one of the most important books to ever be written. In it, Marx explains how capitalism functions. And in this episode, we’ve brought on a scholar and expert on Marx to walk us through it. 

David Smith is Professor of Sociology at the University of Kansas and author of the book Marx’s Capital Illustrated. In this conversation, we explore Capital Vol. 1 through the lens of David’s accessible guide, illustrated by Phil Evans. We explore and unpack concepts like the commodity, use and exchange value, and abstract and concrete labor. We talk about what money is, what capital is, and unpack the famous concept of commodity fetishism and the role it plays as the guiding spirit of capital accumulation. We talk about how capital accumulates while taking a journey into the history of expropriation and the creation of the propertyless proletariat during the enclosures in Britain and in other parts of the world. We talk about how profit is generated by capitalists through our surplus labor, what the rate of profit is and why it has a tendency to fall, and finally, why Capital Vol. 1 remains an essential text for understanding the world around us. 

Further Resources

• Marx's Capital Illustrated, by David Smith (Illustrated by Phil Evans)
• Capital: A Critique of Political Economy Vol. 1, Karl Marx
• Why Socialism? by Albert Einstein
• How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, Walter Rodney
• Planet of Slums, Mike Davis
• Roots of the Current Economic Crisis: The Falling-Rate-of-Profit Tendency, Insufficient Destruction of Capital, and Bubbles, Andrew Kliman

Related Episodes:

• Historical Materialism w/ Torkil Lauesen
• Dialectical Materialism w/ Josh Sykes
• Marxism for the Masses w/ Savannah from All Power Books
• The Myth of Freedom Under Capitalism (Documentary)
• Walter Rodney, Marxism, and Underdevelopment with D. Musa Springer & Charisse Burden-Stelly

Intermission music: "November Rain" by Mount Eerie

Upstream is a labor of love—we couldn't keep this project going without the generosity of our listeners and fans. Subscribe to our Patreon at patreon.com/upstreampodcast or please consider chipping in a one-time or recurring donation at www.upstreampodcast.org/support

If your organization wants to sponsor one of our upcoming documentaries, we have a number of sponsorship packages available. Find out more at  upstreampodcast.org/sponsorship

For more from Upstream, visit www.upstreampodcast.org and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Bluesky. You can also subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.