Thursday, 16 December 2010

Last session before Holidays

1) Vol.II - Last Session before hols: 'Theories of Fixed and Circulating Capital - Smith and the Physiocrats'

Unfortunately we did not record the discussion from our last meeting on 'Turnover and Time & Fixed and Circulating Capital'.
Our next session will be discussing Vol.II chapters 9-10 on 'Theories of Fixed and Circulating Capital - Smith and the Physiocrats':

Monday 20th December
6pm
Room S-3.18
Strand Building
King's College London

"By thus establishing the definition of circulating capital as being the determinant of the capital value laid out for labour-power — this physiocratic definition without the premise of the physiocrats — Adam Smith fortunately killed among his followers the understanding that that part of capital which is spent on labour-power is variable capital. The more profound and correct ideas developed by him elsewhere did not prevail, but this blunder of his did."

The first Vol.II reading group after the hols will be Mon 17th Jan 6pm, Room tbc.
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2) Vol.I - Returning after hols: 'Exchange and Money, or the Circulation of Commodities'

The Volume I reading group will return after the holidays on Wed 12th Jan 6:30pm, Room tbc, with a discussion on 'Exchange and Money, or the Circulation of Commodities':

"All commodities are non-use-values for their owners, and use-values for their non-owners. Consequently, they must all change hands. But this change of hands is what constitutes their exchange, and the latter puts them in relation with each other as values, and realises them as values. Hence commodities must be realised as values before they can be realised as use-values."

We will be reading Vol.I chapters 2-3. The discussion from the previous session on 'The Fetishism of Commodities' is available to download here:
http://rapidshare.com/files/434577032/KCLReadingCapital_01_Dec_2010.mp3
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Sunday, 28 November 2010

'The Fetishism of Commodities' & 'Turnover Time & Fixed and Circulating Capital'

1) Vol. I - Next Session: 'The Fetishism of Commodities'

The Volume I group continues this week (note later start time) with a discussion on 'The Fetishism of Commodities', introduced by Socialist Review Books Editor, Jack Farmer:

Wednesday 1st December
*** 7.30pm ***

Room S-1.08
Strand Building
King's College London
"A commodity is therefore a mysterious thing, simply because in it the social character of men’s labour appears to them as an objective character stamped upon the product of that labour; because the relation of the producers to the sum total of their own labour is presented to them as a social relation, existing not between themselves, but between the products of their labour..."

"...This I call the Fetishism which attaches itself to the products of labour, so soon as they are produced as commodities, and which is therefore inseparable from the production of commodities."

N.B. We will be reading Vol.I, Chapter 1, Section 4 for this meeting.

Facebook event at: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=112044228861591
(The first meeting on 'Commodities and Values' can be downloaded here:http://rapidshare.com/files/430908198/KCLReadingCapital_RobJacksonVolI_November_10_2010.mp3)

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2) Vol.II - Next Session: 'Turnover Time & Fixed and Circulating Capital'

The discussion from our last meeting on 'Times & Costs of Circulation' is available here: http://rapidshare.com/files/432540457/KCLReadingCapital_22_Nov_2010.mp3

Our next session will be discussing chapters 7-8 on 'Turnover Time & Fixed and Circulating Capital':

Monday 6th December
6pm
Room S-3.18

Strand Building
King's College London

"From the point of view of the capitalist, the time of turnover of his capital is the time for which he must advance his capital in order to create surplus-value with it and receive it back in its original shape."
"[The] portion of the capital-value fixed in the instrument of labour circulates as well as any other. We have seen in general that all capital-value is constantly in circulation, and that in this sense all capital is circulating capital. But the circulation of the portion of capital which we are now studying is peculiar. In the first place it does not circulate in its use-form, but it is merely its value that circulates, and this takes place gradually, piecemeal, in proportion as it passes from it to the product, which circulates as a commodity. During the entire period of its functioning, a part of its value always remain fixed in it, independently of the commodities which it helps to produce. It is this peculiarity which gives to this portion of constant capital the form of fixed capital. All the other material parts of capital advanced in the process of production form by way of contrast the circulating, or fluid, capital."

N.B. We will be reading Vol.II Chapters 7-8 for this meeting.
Facebook event at: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=173865585976269

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3) Upcoming Events:

London Seminar on Contemporary Marxist Theory:

15th December, 5pm King's College London, Strand Campus, K.3.11 Raked Lecture Theatre
Peter D. Thomas (Brunel University) Contours of Contemporary Western Marxism

Sunday, 14 November 2010

Next sessions & previous recordings

1) Vol. I - Next Session: 'The Fetishism of Commodities'

The Volume I group began last week with a discussion on 'Commodities and Values', (which can be downloaded here: http://rapidshare.com/files/430908198/KCLReadingCapital_RobJacksonVolI_November_10_2010.mp3).

Our sessions on Volume I will be every 3 weeks. The next (1st Dec) will be a discussion on 'The Fetishism of Commodities', introduced by former KCL student, Jack Farmer:

Wednesday 1st December
6.30pm
Room tbc
Strand Building
King's College London
'A commodity is therefore a mysterious thing, simply because in it the social character of men’s labour appears to them as an objective character stamped upon the product of that labour; because the relation of the producers to the sum total of their own labour is presented to them as a social relation, existing not between themselves, but between the products of their labour...'

'...This I call the Fetishism which attaches itself to the products of labour, so soon as they are produced as commodities, and which is therefore inseparable from the production of commodities.'

N.B. We will be reading Vol.I, Chapter 1, Section 4 for this meeting.

Facebook event at: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=112044228861591

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2) Vol.II - Next Session: 'Time & Costs of Circulation'

The introduction and discussion from our last meeting on 'Circuits of Capital' is available here: http://rapidshare.com/files/429870086/KCLReadingCapital_JonnyJones_November_8_2010.mp3.

As the material was quite lengthy we will be doing a further session discussing chapters 1-4 as well as reading and discussing the 'Time & Costs of Circulation':

Monday 22nd November
6pm
Room S-3.18
Strand Building
King's College London

"We have seen that the movement of capital through the sphere of production and the two phases of the sphere of circulation takes place in a series of periods of time. The duration of its sojourn in the sphere of production is its time of production, that of its stay in the sphere of circulation its time of circulation. The total time during which it describes its circuit is therefore equal to the sum of its time of production and its time of circulation."

N.B. We will be re-capping Vol.II, Chapters 1-4, and reading Chapters 5-6 for this meeting.

Facebook event at: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=117738471623262

Tuesday, 9 November 2010

Volume I Group begins:

Have you been thinking, 'Well, Volume II sounds very interesting, but I haven't read Volume I yet'? Now is your chance to do something about it. The Capital Volume I reading group begins next week with a discussion on 'Commodities and Values', (assuming London's Universities haven't been shut down by the UCU/NUS demo earlier that day! - http://www.demo2010.org/)


Wednesday 10th November
6.30pm
Room S-1.08
Strand Building
King's College London


'The wealth of those societies in which the capitalist mode of production prevails, presents itself as “an immense accumulation of commodities,” its unit being a single commodity. Our investigation must therefore begin with the analysis of a commodity'

N.B. We will be reading Vol.I, Chapter 1, Sections 1-3 for this meeting.

Facebook event at: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=126093377447424

Wednesday, 27 October 2010

Next Session: 'Circuits of Capital'

1) Vol.II - Next Session: 'Circuits of Capital'

The Reading Group had a very interesting discussion last Monday on Ernest Mandel's Introduction to Volume II, which can be downloaded here:
http://rapidshare.com/files/427153667/KCLReadingCapital_NickBeech_October_25_2010.mp3

For our next session, Jonny Jones, deputy-editor of International Socialism Journal, will be presenting a short introduction on 'Circuits of Capital', followed by a discussion. Room details now below:

Monday 8th November
6pm
Room S-3.18
Strand Building
King's College London


"The two forms assumed by capital-value at the various stages of its circulation are those of money-capital and commodity-capital. The form pertaining to the stage of production is that of productive capital. The capital which assumes these forms in the course of its total circuit and then discards them and in each of them performs the function corresponding to the particular form, is industrial capital, industrial here in the sense it comprises every branch of industry run on a capitalist basis."

"Money-capital, commodity-capital and productive capital, do not therefore designate independent kinds of capital whose functions form the content of likewise independent branches of industry separated from one another. They denote here only special functional forms of industrial capital, which assumes all three of them one after the other."

N.B. We will be reading Chapters 1-4 for this meeting.

Facebook event at: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=119774294751013

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2) Upcoming Events & Information:

a) 'Crisis and Critique': Historical Materialism Annual London Conference 2010:
HM London 2010 aims to serve as a forum for dialogue,
interaction and debate between different strands of critical-Marxist theory.
Central London, Thu 11th-Sun 14th November
Registration and Provisional Programme Now Available online: http://www.historicalmaterialism.org/conferences/annual7

b) London Seminar on Contemporary Marxist Theory:
This seminar will explore the new perspectives that have been opened up Marxist theory. It involves collaboration among Marxist scholars based in several London universities. Guest speakers ­ from both Britain and abroad ­ will include a wide range of thinkers engaging with many different elements of the various Marxist traditions, as well as with diverse problems and topics. The aim of the
seminar is to promote fruitful debate and to contribute to the development of more robust Marxist analysis. It is open to all.

9th November, 5pm King's College London, Strand Campus, S-1.04, Raked Lecture Theatre
Massimiliano Tomba (University of Padua) The Historical Materialist at work: Re-reading 'The Eighteenth Brumaire'

15th December, 5pm King's College London, Strand Campus, K.3.11 Raked Lecture Theatre
Peter D. Thomas (Brunel University) Contours of Contemporary Western Marxism

For further information, please contact:
Alex Callinicos, European Studies, King's:
alex.callinicos@kcl.ac.uk
Stathis Kouvelakis, European Studies, King's:
stathis.kouvelakis@kcl.ac.uk
Costas Lapavitsas, Economics, SOAS:
cl5@soas.ac.uk
Peter Thomas, Politics and History, Brunel:
PeterD.Thomas@brunel.ac.uk

c) Education Activist Network Conference:
The EAN conference is an opportunity for students and education workers to discuss how to defeat the cuts in higher, further and adult education and fight for another vision of education.

Among the highlights will be workshops with strikers and student occupiers and a forum on the resistance in Europe with activists from France and Greece. This is a chance to organise for French-style resistance in Britain. Visit the link below to register online.

Education Activist Network National Conference
Sunday 31st October 11am-5pm
King’s College London & London School of Economics
Supported by NUS, London Region UCU and others
http://educationactivistnetwork.wordpress.com/national-conference-31st-october/

d) International Socialism 128 Out Now:
In this issue...
Palestine and Israel
Jamie Allinson analyses Hamas, the Islamist movement that has emerged as the pivotal force in the Palestinians’ struggle for national liberation.
Crisis and resistance
Panos Garganas in Greece speaks from the front line of the struggle there, Christakis Georgiou looks at the crisis in the eurozone and Jane Hardy surveys the forms taken by the Great Recession in Central and Eastern Europe. Also...
Jairus Banaji, on insurgency in rural India, Neil Davidson on struggles in the global South & Trotsky’s theory of permanent revolution, John Molyneux on Marxism & Michelangelo. Simon Pirani defends his interpretation of the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, Jess Edwards differs with the view of sex work put forward by Gareth Dale and Xanthe Whittaker in our last issue.
To order copies, email isj@swp.org.uk, call 020 7819 1177 or send £5.50 to ISJ, PO Box 42184, London SW8 2WD
www.isj.org.uk

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3) Volume I & Highlights:

More information coming soon on the Volume I discussion group.

Friday, 22 October 2010

Nicholas Beech on Mandel's Introduction Vol.II

1) REMINDER: Volume II of Capital:

The Reading Group begins Volume II of Marx's Capital this week with Ernest Mandel's introduction to Volume II. For our first session, Nicholas Beech, a PhD student from UCL, will be presenting a short introduction followed by a discussion. Room details now below:

Monday 25th October
6pm
Room S-3.18
Strand Building
King's College London

N.B. We will be reading the Introduction to Vol.II by Ernest Mandel for this meeting.

Facebook event at: http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=116271315100098

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2) Volume I Group:

We have now had sufficient numbers interested in reading Volume I of Capital to launch a group. If you have not already contacted us and would like to be involved in discussing when this meets please contact us on the usual email address kclreadingcapital@gmail.com.

Wednesday, 13 October 2010

John Weeks recording & Introduction to Volume II

1) John Weeks Recording:

Around 70-80 people came to King's last Monday evening for John Weeks' very interesting talk on 'Capital, Exploitation and Economic Crises'. For those who weren't able to come, there is a recording of the talk here:

http://rapidshare.com/files/424492618/JohnWeeks_11Oct2010.mp3

A copy of John's powerpoint presentation will also be available soon on kclreadingcapital.blogspot.com

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2) Volume II of Capital:

The Reading Group continues this year with Volume II of Marx's Capital. Although, as Engels pointed out, Volume II does not contain 'much material for agitation', in describing the process by which the total social capital is reproduced and circulated, it occupies a crucial place in Marx's analysis of the capitalist mode of production. Volume II, centred around the market-place, explains not how value and surplus-value are produced, but how they are realised.

For our first session, Nicholas Beech, a PhD student from UCL, will be presenting a short introduction followed by a discussion on Ernest Mandel's Introduction to the Penguin edition of Volume II.

Monday 25th October
6pm
Strand Building, Room tbc
King's College London


N.B. We will be reading the Introduction to Vol.II by Ernest Mandel for this meeting.

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3) Reading Marx:

A number of people have expressed an interest in attending one-off sessions around shorter works by Marx, such the Communist Manifesto, the Paris Manuscripts, etc. If you would like to take part in such sessions please contact us on usual email addresskclreadingcapital@gmail.com.

Also if you would like to be put in touch with others interested in reading Volume I of Capital likewise please email.

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Regards,
KCL Reading Capital