We continue our series looking at Marx’s Capital. Having charted the historical development of commodity production and money in previous chapters, in chapters 4-8 Marx now turns his attention to the question that had stumped the classical economists: what is the source of profit within capitalism?

Capital in the 21st Century, by the French economist Thomas Piketty, has hit the stands and has been making waves in the national and international press, not least among economic commentators. John Pickard looks at Piketty’s work, which has caused a sensation amongst both the left and the right for its analysis of the inequalities under capitalism.

We continue our series of articles on Marx’s Capital by looking at Chapters 2-3, in which Marx turned his attention to the question of money, explaining the various roles and functions that money plays in commodity production and exchange, and the relationship between money, commodities, and value.