Books

1947. Yerûsalayim [Jerusalem], Sifriyyat Pôalîm, 1947 & 1954. Large8vo. Two volumes both in publisher's original printed cloth with the original dust-jackets. 763 pp.; 516 pp.Vol. 1: A bit of misolocured to spine and front board. Front dust-jacket detached from the spine and back-part. Spine lacking a third of the paper. Very fragile.Vol. 2: Upper and lower part of spine miscoloured. Dust-jacket missing upper and lower part of spine. Both volumes internally very fine and clean. The very rare first complete Hebrew translation of Marx's Das Kapital. In the 1890ies numerous attempts at a Hebrew translation were made but not until Zevi Wislavsky's 1947-translation the Hebrew speaking world were able to read the full volume 1 of 'Das Kapital'.Marx, himself being of Jewish descent, was a proponent of antisemic idea and he argued that the modern commercialized world is the triumph of Judaism, a pseudo-religion whose god is money. Even in Das Kapital, he lets his anti-Semitism flourish:…

"Das Kapital," written by Karl Marx, is a seminal work critiquing the capitalist system's foundations and mechanisms. Published in 1867, this extensive analysis of capitalism delves into its economic processes, the exploitation inherent within, and its eventual contradictions which Marx believed would lead to its downfall. Marx introduces key concepts such as commodity, value, surplus value, and the labor theory of value, arguing that the value of a commodity is determined by the labor required for its production. He criticizes how capitalists profit by exploiting workers, paying them less than the value of their labor while selling the products for their full value. Marx's critique extends to the dynamics of capital accumulation, technological advancements, and their effects on the proletariat, predicting increasing capital centralization and crises stemming from capitalism's internal contradictions. "Das Kapital" covers the circulation and distribution of capital, explaining how surplus value is divided among different classes and sectors, leading to cycles of boom and bust. Despite its influence, "Das Kapital" has faced criticism for its total failure in economic predictions, such as the underestimation of capitalism's adaptability and the overemphasis on the labor theory of value. Critics argue Marx's predictions of escalating class struggle and the proletariat revolution have not materialized as expected, questioning his views on human nature and the efficiency of market mechanisms. Nonetheless, "Das Kapital" remains a pivotal work in economic and political thought, offering a deep, if wrong, critique of capitalism and its socio-economic impacts.