Explain the bookclub: We are reading Volumes 1, 2, and 3 in one year and discussing it in weekly threads. (Volume IV, often published under the title Theories of Surplus Value, will not be included in this particular reading club, but comrades are encouraged to do other solo and collaborative reading.) This bookclub will repeat yearly.

I'll post the readings at the start of each week and @mention anybody interested. Let me know if you want to be added or removed.

Just joining us? You can use the archives below to help you reading up to where the group is. There is another reading group on a different schedule at https://lemmygrad.ml/c/genzhou (federated at !genzhou@lemmygrad.ml ) which may fit your schedule better. The idea is for the bookclub to repeat annually, so there's always next year.

Archives: Week 1 – Week 2 – Week 3 – Week 4 – Week 5 – Week 6 – Week 7 – Week 8 – Week 9 – Week 10 – Week 11 – Week 12 – Week 13 – Week 14 – Week 15 – Week 16 – Week 17 – Week 18 – Week 19 – Week 20 – Week 21 – Week 22 – Week 23 – Week 24 – Week 25 – Week 26 – Week 27 – Week 28 – Week 29 – Week 30 – Week 31 – Week 32 – Week 33 – Week 34 – Week 35 – Week 36 – Week 37 – Week 38 – Week 39 – Week 40 – Week 41 – Week 42 – Week 43 – Week 44 – Week 45 – Week 46

Week 47, Nov 18-24 – Chapter 39, Chapter 40, and Chapter 41 of Volume III

Chapter 39 is called 'First Form of Differential Rent (Differential Rent I)'

Chapter 40 is called 'Second Form of Differential Rent (Differential Rent II)'

Chapter 41 is called 'Differential Rent II — First Case: Constant Price of Production'

https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1894-c3/index.htm

Discuss the week's reading in the comments.

  • Kolibri [she/her]
    ·
    1 month ago

    I'm not much either and Marx's examples just confuse me more. I did try to read this to see if I was missing anything https://themarxistproject.medium.com/marxs-theory-of-ground-rent-9495bcb93198

    and this just seems to be the important part from that article?

    The important takeaway in Marx’s theory of ground rent is that rent exists in economic margins. Rent is effectively a claim on the extra portion of surplus value produced by enterprises that are less productive than the social average. This claim is based on exclusive ownership of land or resources. As you might imagine, rents are not strictly limited to land or physical resources.

    • Lemmygradwontallowme [he/him, comrade/them]
      ·
      1 month ago

      Finally, I somewhat understand (thanks for the article)

      Differential rent I is rent based on the yield differences between lands of varying fertility, with equal investments of capital.

      Differential rent II is rent based on different levels of capital investment across the same type of land (in terms of fertility).