Capital Volume 3

Volume III of Capital has been the most controversial, particularly concerning problems of the conversion of surplus value into average profit and the tendency of the rate of profit to fall. This English edition of the third volume of Marx’s great work is based on the German edition of 1894, and was first published in this form in 1959.

In this volume, Marx examines the distribution of surplus value in its market forms of profit, interest and rent, and presents a wealth of theoretical and historical material. The underlying causes of crises are revealed in the theoretical parts. These insights are developed to reveal the complex but crucial role played by banking capital and its potential conflict with industry. The role of landed property is shown to act as a potential impediment to the accumulation and functioning of agricultural capital. By such analyses Marx lays out the class anatomy of capitalist society and the illusions that it breeds.

This English edition of the third volume of Marx’s great work is based on the German edition of 1894, and checked by reference to the original manuscript edited by Frederick Engels.