Theory as Critique, while discussing many central issues of Marxian theory, has two main emphases: First, as the title suggests, it takes seriously Capital’s claim to be a critique of economic theory, rather than a contribution to political economy. Understanding what this means, it shows, goes far to unravelling many difficulties traditionally found in Marx’s book, from the nature of his theory of class to the 'transformation problem'. Secondly, Mattick’s volume carefully explores how to bridge the gap between the extreme abstraction of Marx’s ideas and the complex reality that they are intended to help us understand.
Publication date: June 18, 2019
Acknowledgements
1 Introduction
2 Marx’s Abstraction Science Idealisation Explanation
3 Questions of Method Marx’s Abandonment of Philosophy Logic and Abstraction Marx’s Dialectic
4 Theory as Critique Political Economy as Text and Discourse Representation and Reality The Starting Point The Argument in Capital
5 Labour as Activity and as Representation Value as Representation Abstract Labour and Value Abstraction in Practice The Reduction of Skilled Labour The Causal Reality of Value
6 Value and Price: Marx’s Resolution of a Ricardian Conundrum Labour and Value Value and Price
7 Ricardo Redux After Sraffa Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
8 Economic Form and Social Reproduction Capital Circulation and Reproduction
9 Class and Capital Economic Appearances and Social Reality Economic Class and Social Structure Class Struggle and Revolution
10 Trend and Cycle Theoretical Issues Breakdown
11 Value Theory and Economic Events Categories and Data Prosperity as Depression
Bibliography
Index
“Marx is widely considered an outmoded nineteenth-century thinker whose predictions have been falsified [...] Paul Mattick’s superb study, Theory as Critique: Essays on Capital, establishes that these endlessly recycled objections either are not substantiated in a close reading of Marx’s works or do not touch the heart of Marx’s position. Correcting previous interpretations, however, is not Mattick’s ultimate goal: ‘the main interest of this book is the attempt to bridge the gap between Marx’s ideas and their application to present-day circumstances’. Far from being an account of nineteenth-century capitalism made obsolete by more recent developments, Marx’s theory is ‘still explanatorily relevant to a social system that continues to have the basic features Marx identified’.”
—Tony Smith, H-Net Reviews
“As with his earlier works, Theory as Critique scrutinises the shortcomings of the economics profession. What sets Mattick’s more recent book apart, however, is not simply its textual probing of Marx’s critique of political economy, but the way it takes aim at a peculiar tendency within contemporary economics: what Mattick calls ‘Marxist economics’.”
—Jason E. Smith, Radical Philosophy
“What separates Mattick’s book from many others is that Mattick really is trying to guide the reader charitably through Marx’s work, developing Marx’s own theories, without ever feeling compelled to develop his own form of Mattick-ism [...] anyone interested even loosely in the topics here will not be wasting their time with this book.”
—Chris Byron, Marx & Philosophy Review of Books
