Marx's Theory of Capitalism - Foundations and Labor Theory of Value

Explore Marx's theory of capitalism in this 51-minute Yale University lecture from the Moral Foundations of Politics course. Delve into the foundations of Marx's economic theory, examining how wealth is created under capitalism at the micro level. Analyze the labor theory of value, which posits that human labor-power is the sole creator of new value, and understand Marx's critique of Adam Smith's invisible hand. Investigate concepts such as surplus labor time, exploitation, and the class-for-itself/class-in-itself distinction. Learn about socially necessary labor time and how workers are other-referential in Marx's framework. The lecture covers Marx's characterization of freedom, his theory of science, and the labor theories of value and surplus value, concluding with an explanation of relative and absolute surplus value and the rate of exploitation.