| The Grundrisse, a work which challenges every serious interpretation of Marx yet conceived, contains an outline of Marx's full political-economic project. This project is to scientifically elaborate not only the theoretical foundations of capitalism but those of communism. The individual within capitalism has been shaped by that social formation but a new society is possible in which a "new" individual will emerge. The ground for this optimism lies for Marx in value understood as a historically specific form of social wealth. By examining value as grounded in the conception of surplus as product, Marx understands that it is possible instead to conceive surplus as the potential increase of quality of life. In order to see this the economic notion of surplus value must be transformed into the social notion of free-time.;But first Marx must understand capitalism. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)... |
