Box brings together the three volumes of Capital , in a pioneering translation from German by economist Reginaldo Sant'Anna, and a booklet with supporting material developed by sociologist and political economist Sabrina Fernandes.
Karl Marx's Capital is the most important work in the humanities. In a 1998 text celebrating the publication of Civilização Brasileira—which, at the time of its release in the 1960s, was the only Brazilian translation published, a feat that remained untouched for over 40 years—political scientist and Marxist intellectual Carlos Nelson Coutinho emphasizes the need for this work to be available in its entirety.
Even today, the brilliant dialectical analysis present in Capital , which was prepared by Friedrich Engels in the second and third volumes for posthumous publication, has not lost its place among the economic theories that most arouse interest throughout the world.
In Book 1: The Process of Production of Capital , Marx presents key concepts – such as the emergence of capital, use value and exchange value, commodity fetishism and surplus value –, the formation of class society and the antagonistic relationship between the working class and the bourgeoisie, in addition to the dynamics of labor exploitation.
In Book 2: The Process of Circulation of Capital , the author explains the integrated mode of circulation of goods, presents key concepts – such as money capital, commodity capital, productive capital and industrial capital – and defines crisis situations in the capital system, not as an exception, but as an unstoppable destiny.
In Book 3: The Global Process of Capitalist Production , Marx discusses the rate of profit and its impact on different countries – which implies a critique of capital in the face of commercial relations between metropolises and colonies –, in addition to reaffirming the limiting situation of capital accumulation and its tendency to collapse.
The blurb is by Carlos Nelson Coutinho and the design is by award-winning graphic artist Gustavo Piqueira.
The booklet accompanying the box set features an introduction by sociologist and political economist Sabrina Fernandes on the importance of each volume, as well as previously unpublished translations by her of Friedrich Engels' biography of Marx and Vladimir Lenin's biography of Engels. Also included are historical reproductions of the title pages of early editions of Capital , a chronology, and supporting bibliography.
It is with pride, therefore, that Editora Civilização Brasileira re-presents the three books that comprise Capital – Karl Marx's magnum opus – translated directly from the original German, in a pioneering gesture in Brazil, by Bahian economist Reginaldo Sant'Anna. This reaffirms Civilização Brasileira's historic commitment to disseminating Karl Marx's ideas, valuing the practicality of reference and research for countless readers who, like past generations, continue to consider this work as a primary reference.
