ABSTRACT

Marx’s method, especially in Capital, is difficult to summarise. Widely different interpretations of his method derive from distinct views of the role and objectives of his theory and from the scope and incompleteness of Marx’s published works.1 These methodological controversies have played a significant role in the development of Marxian political economy. However, it is unlikely that they would have become as far-reaching, and developed such importance, if Marx had been less cryptic himself on method. In the postface to the second edition of Capital 1, Marx concludes that ‘the method employed in Capital has been little understood [as] is shown by the various mutually contradictory conceptions that have been formed of it’.2 In spite of this, Marx never explained his own method fully.