A Study Of Dialectics In Marx’s Capital

Since the publication of "Capital",the understanding of the methodological issues in "Capital" has presented a controversial situation.For this reason,Marx specifically explained the methods he used in the postscript to the first volume of "Capital" in an attempt to eliminate people’s misunderstandings.However,this explanation itself further sparked various controversies.To this day,the methodology research topic of "Capital" still maintains strong theoretical vitality.On the one hand,whenever people attempt to explore the theoretical logic of Capital,Hegel is a "present person" who must have a dialogue with it,and this ideological entanglement has maintained a high degree of academic openness and rich ideological connotations in this topic;On the other hand,the contemporary significance of Marx’s theory is primarily methodological in nature,and "Capital" undoubtedly demonstrates the essential characteristics of Marx’s method in the most profound way.It can be said that the relationship between the dialectics of Capital and the modern world is a difficult topic to bypass.Whether it is the critique of modernity or the deconstruction of postmodernism,in practice,it is constrained by the ruling power of capital.Without the ideological weapon of dialectics,it is difficult to achieve the critique of capital and its reflected thinking structure in people’s minds.This paper focuses on the dialectics of Capital from the following four aspects:First,clarifying the ontological foundation of the dialectics of Capital is the premise and focus of the study of Capital’s dialectics.Hegel’s dialectics cannot be used as a readymade and directly applicable ideological tool by Marx in the study of political economy.This external reflective interpretation of dialectics as a purely formal method detached from its substantive content is also opposed by Marx and Engels.Therefore,the primary task is to examine the self-development of the substantive content of dialectics at the ontological level.The meaning conveyed by Hegel’s concept of "entity"(subject)is completely different from that of Marx’s concept of "real subject".As far as "Capital" is concerned,the "real subject" of Marxist dialectics is a capitalist social production organism at a specific historical stage.This ontological foundation determined from historical production relations is completely different from Hegel’s "objective thought"("absolute spirit").In Marx’s theoretical perspective,capital is not only a specific social and historical form of production relationship,but its self-proliferation,self-expansion of subjectivity,and the dominance of capital over all production factors all indicate that the overall capitalist society derived from this production relationship is a "constantly changing organism".Furthermore,the dialectical nature of self-movement and self-renewal inherent in the production organism of capitalist society,from its germination to its continuous enrichment and concretization of its own growth process creating historical premises for its expansion through the occupation of land and labor,and controlling the labor process through labor division and machinery to become a "shining light",The production organism of capitalist society "subordinates all elements of society to itself" and "creates organs that it still lacks from society"-this is the process of unfolding the dialectics of "Capital" in the ontological sense.Secondly,the clarification of the ontological foundation of the dialectics of Capital has played a role in "clearing the foundation" for the research of this topic.Therefore,starting from Lenin’s important proposition of "the unity of materialist logic,dialectics,and epistemology",the epistemological and logical interpretation of the dialectics of Capital has become the core content of the dialectical research of Capital.The logical system of "Capital" is essentially a conceptual representation of the structure and operational laws of capitalist social production organisms.Marx established a "whole of art" through the overall cognitive process of "possessing and analyzing materials-delving into the essence,grasping connections-establishing structures,making materials flow and have life at the theoretical level".The specific development process of this overall structure follows the "scientifically correct method" of rising from abstraction to concrete.The method of ascending from abstract to concrete is essentially the reproduction of concrete methods in thinking,and concrete is the unity of many prescribed comprehensiveness and diversity."It manifests as a comprehensive process in thinking." In this regard,the process of economic categories ascending from abstract to concrete is also a process of dialectical synthesis(i.e.analysis and synthesis).This process fundamentally follows the materialist principle of "the unity of logic and history".Although the self-proliferation and self-renewal of capital have isomorphism with the self-promotion of "entity" in Hegel’s dialectics in general forms of movement,in the perspective of the dialectics of Capital,the understanding of capitalist social organisms is a process of "reproduction" in both ideology and theory.In this process,the real capitalist social organism itself serves as a predetermined premise and object,and the economic category undergoes an abstract and concrete process to grasp the structure and movement mechanism of this premise and object.Therefore,economic categories and concepts are constantly placed within the historical production relations themselves,and only then can the "revolution of terminology" in Marxist political economy be manifested.Thirdly,elaborate on the value dimension of the dialectics of "Capital" in the perspective of scientific socialism.Marx paid great attention to the status and survival situation of the proletariat in the development of real society and history.The critical and revolutionary nature inherent in the dialectics of "Capital" demonstrates a strong value theory in the perspective of scientific socialism.Marx analyzed the capitalist mode of production and its production relations,and historically analyzed the possibility of the proletariat losing and regaining its dominant position in capitalist society based on scientific theories.At its root,the contradiction between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat is manifested as: the labor of workers not only fails to realize their own value,but also causes their own poverty.The more workers work,the more surplus value they generate is freely occupied by the bourgeoisie,the more capital increases,and the more they create the power to govern themselves.On the other hand,the accumulation of capital has brought about the growth of the proletariat team and the conditions for socialized mass production,creating the gravediggers of the bourgeoisie itself.Thus,the dialectics of Capital highlight the inevitability of the opposition between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat,the inevitability of the bourgeoisie creating its own gravediggers,and the inevitability of capitalist ownership negating itself.In revealing the self-negation of the production organism in capitalist society and the conflict between capital logic and class struggle,the value dimension of the dialectics in Capital highlights the possibility of seeking human liberation and free and comprehensive development in the changes of the overall social structure based on the transformation of real production methods.Fourthly,attempt to highlight the contemporary significance of the dialectics of Capital.Firstly,the dialectics of Capital provides theoretical resources for contemplating the virtuous cycle and development of China’s economy in the new era.Secondly,the dialectics of Capital provide methodological support for building China’s independent knowledge system.From the logical premise of the "real subject" in the dialectics of Capital,the primary task of building China’s independent knowledge system is to reflect and study the practical situation of Chinese society in the new era.In terms of research methods,building a philosophy and social science with Chinese characteristics requires grasping and analyzing the "new materials" of the "new era" with "abstract power",and forming scientific "concepts";In terms of narrative methods,it is necessary to establish a scientific logical starting point and follow the theoretical path of abstract rise to concrete construction of a logical system,in order to theoretically "reproduce" the complex structure and operating laws of contemporary Chinese society.Thirdly,the dialectics of "Capital" provide value guidance for the development of contemporary Chinese society.In the theoretical perspective of the dialectics of Capital,capitalism marks the beginning of modern society and civilization,and the trend of self-expansion and self-negation of capitalist social organisms also marks the historical process of continuous renewal of modern society and civilization.This has fundamentally provided value guidance for Chinese path to modernization and the creation of new forms of human civilization.