Books

1933. Istanbul, Sirketi Mürettibye Matbaasi, 1933. 8vo. In contemporary full black cloth binding with gilt lettering to spine. Blindtooled frames to front and back board. Previous owner's name "Hüsnû Hizlan" in gilt lettering to front board. A fine and clean copy. (7), (1), (5)-305, (1), [errata-leaf] pp. Rare first Turkish book-length appearance of Marx’s landmark ‘Das Kapital’, being a translation of the most important abridged version of Marx's Capital ever to have appeared, Haydar Rifat’s (Yorulmaz) 1933 translation Sermaye, which was based on an abridged French version (1897) of the original by Gabriel Deville. Exerting great effort for the formation of the leftist thought and discourse in the late Ottoman and early Republican periods, Haydar Rifat was a prominent translator acting as a culture entrepreneur in the cultivation of leftist ideas. In his preface to Sermaye, Rifat notes that only passing remarks are made on Marx’s works in the faculties of law and…

"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.