The Changing Concept of Labour in Marx

Labour was a central concept for Marx, both for his analysis and for his respective critique of domination. However, over time not only the content of the concept of labour (alienated/non-alienated labour, division of labour/abolition of labour, abstract/concrete labour) but also the theoretical coordinate systems within which Marx used this concept changed considerably. Michael Heinrich discusses these changes and their consequences for Marx’s analysis of capitalism and his critique of domination. Michael Heinrich was for several years a collaborator of the new Marx Engels Gesamtausgabe (MEGA) and until 2016 professor of economics at the Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft (University of Applied Sciences) Berlin. Available in English are his Introduction to the Three Volumes of Karl Marx’s Capital (2012), How to read Marx’s Capital (2021) and the first volume of his Marx-biography Karl Marx and the Birth of Modern Society (2019). This event is sponsored by JHI’s Program for the Arts.