Capital at 150: History in Capital, Capital in History

Capital at 150: History in Capital, Capital in History

150 years after the publication of the first volume of Marx’s ‘Capital’, Radhika Desai’s CounterPunch article evaluates its significance for modern times.


Capital will not re-enter history, the one you must make to prevent capitalism taking humanity down with it, unless you recover the history in it. Park your ahistorical economics and social sciences at the door before you enter. They are not aids to understanding the greatest analysis of how we got here and where we might be headed. Read what Marx says. Pay no attention to those that tell you Capital is hard: they are merely saying ‘read my book first’. You have limited time: spend it on reading Capital.

About the author

Radhika Desai
Radhika Desai

Radhika Desai is Professor at the Department of Political Studies, and Director, Geopolitical Economy Research Group, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada. She is the author of Geopolitical Economy: After US Hegemony, Globalization and Empire (2013), Slouching Towards Ayodhya: From Congress to Hindutva in Indian Politics (2nd rev ed, 2004) and Intellectuals and Socialism: 'Social Democrats' and the Labour Party (1994), a New Statesman and Society Book of the Month, and editor or co-editor of Russia, Ukraine and Contemporary Imperialism, a special issue of International Critical Thought (2016), Theoretical Engagements in Geopolitical Economy (2015), Analytical Gains from Geopolitical Economy (2015), Revitalizing Marxist Theory for Today's Capitalism (2010) and Developmental and Cultural Nationalisms (2009). Currently she is working on a three books: Capitalism’s Geopolitical Economy: From Imperialism to Multipolarity, Marx as a Monetary Theorist and The Making of the Indian Capitalist Class. She is also working on co-editing two volumes: The Enduring Legacy of Karl Polanyi, (with Kari Polanyi Levitt) and Revolutions, a special issue of Third World Quarterly. She is also the author of numerous articles in Economic and Political Weekly, International Critical Thought New Left Review, Third World Quarterly, World Review of Political Economy and other journals and in edited collections on parties, political economy, culture and nationalism. With Alan Freeman, she co-edits the Geopolitical Economy book series with Manchester University Press and the Future of Capitalism book series with Pluto Press. She serves on the Editorial Boards of many journals including Canadian Political Science Review, Critique of Political Economy, E-Social Sciences, Global Faultlines, International Critical Thought, Pacific Affairs (2003-2017), Research in Political Economy, Revista de Economía Crítica, Third World Quarterly and World Review of Political Economy.Dr Desai was educated at the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, India and Queen’s University at Kingston, Canada. Phone: 204-474-9818 Address: Department of Political Studies 451 University College University of Manitoba R3T 2M8 Canada

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