A new course featuring David Harvey teaching Karl Marx’s Grundrisse: Foundations of the Critique of Political Economy (Rough Draft).

Written during the winter of 1857-8, the Grundrisse was considered by Marx to be the first scientific elaboration of communist theory.

Recorded live in 2020 first at The People’s Forum and then in quarantine, these 12 accessible lectures both guide the reader through the major themes of Marx’s seminal text, as well as feature contemporary commentary relating the text to the pandemic and economic crisis.

The text for this course is Grundrisse: Foundations of the Critique of Political Economy (Rough Draft) by Karl Marx. The page numbers Professor Harvey refers to are from the Penguin Classics edition, translated by Martin Nicolaus, ISBN: 978-0140445756.  The text of the Grundrisse can also be found for free on the Marxists Internet Archive.

If you would prefer to read the Grundrisse in the original German, this document, created by a Berlin based reading group, lists the page numbers to the Marx Engels Werke (MEW) German edition, alongside every reference Professor Harvey makes to the Penguin Classics English edition. 

YouTube Playlist

Syllabus

Handout


A Companion to Marx's Grundrisse

This course was the inspiration for my next book, A Companion to Marx’s Grundrisse, coming February 7, 2023 with Verso Books. It is available for pre-order now: