Capital / Logic Debate

Andy Blunden is an independent scholar. His fields of research include social philosophy, psychology, Activity Theory, Marxism, Hegel and Cultural Historical Activity Theory. He began publishing in 2003, and was for some time an Editor of Mind, Culture and Activity, has published seven books through Brill and numerous journal articles, and has presented courses for the Melbourne School of Continental Philosophy, Monash University Department of Early Childhood Development, and Deakin University.

• Preface ixAcknowledgements xvList of Tables xvi1 The Grundrisse/Logic Debate 11 Lenin’s Annotations on Hegel’s Logic 12 Publication of the Grundrisse 33 The Multiple Drafts of Capital 64 Hegel References in the Grundrisse 75 Hiroshi Uchida’s Analysis of Grundrisse and Logic 85.1 Introduction 85.2 The Chapter on Money 115.3 The Chapter on Capital 145.4 Introduction to the Grundrisse 155.4.1 The Method of Political Economy 165.5 Marx’s Critiques of Hegel 195.5.1 Generality of Capital 195.5.2 Particularity of Capital 205.5.3 Individuality of Capital 215.6 Conclusion 226 Mark Meaney’s Analysis of Grundrisse and Logic 237 Terrell Carver on the Grundrisse and the Logic 278 Conclusion to Chapter 1 302 Geert Reuten’s “Updating” of Capital 311 Introduction 311.1 Overview of Reuten’s Book 322 Issues with Reuten’s “Dialectical Reconstruction” 392.1 The Starting Point 392.1.1 Marx’s Starting Point 402.2 Functionalism 452.2.1 Two Phases of Reconstruction 462.2.2 Hegel’s Essence Logic 472.2.3 Essence, Diagnosis and Remedy 482.2.4 A Metaphor 502.2.5 The Place of Essence in Systematic Dialectic 512.2.6 Theory and Social Practice 522.3 The Logical and Historical Sequence of Categories 552.4 The State as an Epiphenomenon of the Economy 582.5 Households “Create” Rather Than Produce Labour-Capacity? 612.5.1 Utility? 642.5.2 Embodied Labour, Value and Price 682.5.3 Measuring Working Time 702.5.4 Abstract Labour 702.6 Rejection of “Embodied Labour” as Determinant of Value,for Price 712.6.1 “Socially Necessary” and “Socially Average” 712.6.2 Fictitious Capital 722.7 Money as Bank Credits or as Commodities 723 Outcomes of Reuten’s Book: the Capitalist Crisis 743.1 Historical Tendencies towards Large Welfare States 753.2 Too-Big-to-Fail Banks 763.3 The Impossibility of Regulating Capitalism 773.4 The Imponderable Complexity of Financial Institutions 773.5 Paralysis of World Trade 783.6 The Climate Crisis 784 Conclusion to Chapter 2 793 Does Capital “Mirror” Sections of Hegel’s Logic? 801 Introduction 802 Hegel’s Use of the Logic 802.1 Capital Mirrors the Essence Logic? 823 Abazari’s Reading of Hegel 834 Tony Smith on Capital and the Essence Logic 864.1 Preamble on the Structure of the Logic 874.2 Mixing Up Absolute Idea, Thought, Spirit and Subject 894.2.1 The Subject 894.2.2 Thought and Geist 924.3 Mixing Up Universal, Subject and Being 934.4 The Claim That Capital Is an Essence Logic 954.4.1 Smith’s Reason for Choosing Essence as the “Model”for Capital 964.5 The Misconception of the Concept Logic 994.6 Affirmative or Critical Dialectic 1014.7 Failure to Understand Dynamics of the Logic 1024.8 Conclusion 1045 Chris Arthur: Capital Mirrors the Logics of Being and Essence? 1045.1 Historical Dialectic and Systematic Dialectic 1055.2 The Logic of Being and Value 1085.3 Summary 1126 Capital Mirrors Various Parts of the Logic? 1137 Conclusion to Chapter 3 1164 Fred Moseley’s Analysis of Capital and the Concept Logic 1181 Introduction 1182 Volume 1 and the Total Surplus Value 1193 Value and Price in Volume 1 1224 Circulation and Turnover Time of Capital 1245 Equalisation of the Rate of Profit 1255.1 Long-Term Equilibrium 1296 The “Universal Individual” in Hegel 1307 Marx’s Starting Point 1378 On Marx’s Theory of Money 1409 Value of Labour Power 14110 Conclusion to Chapter 4 1425 Capital and the “Economic Germ Cell” 1441 Introduction 1442 Evald Ilyenkov’s “Abstract and Concrete in Marx’s Capital” 1452.1 The Abstract and the Concrete 1462.1.1 The Unity of the Abstract and the Concrete 1512.2 The Method of Investigation and the Method of Presentation 1522.3 Hegel’s Idealism 1532.4 Logical Development and Concrete Historicism 1542.4.1 Ascent from the Abstract to the Concrete inMarx’s Capital 1572.5 Contradiction 1582.6 Summary 1593 Lev Vygotsky’s Psychology 1593.1 Origins of the Concept of “Cell” as a Method of Analysis 1603.2 Hegel’s Formulation of the Idea 1613.3 Marx’s Appropriation of Hegel 1654 The Development of Science 1675 Hegel on Mediation and Immediacy 1685.1 The Method of Double Stimulation 1685.2 Word Meaning 1705.3 Concepts as Units of the Intellect 1725.4 The Formation of Concepts 1735.5 Germ Cell and Unit of Analysis 1755.6 Five Applications by Vygotsky of the Method of Analysisby Units 1775.6.1 Perezhivanie 1775.6.2 Defect-Compensation 1785.6.3 Social Situation of Development 1785.6.4 Activities 1795.7 The Importance of Vygotsky for Social Theory 1806 Conclusion to Chapter 5 1816 Conclusion 182References 193Index 196