Published by Crackers Books,
6 September 2024
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“Read Capital: The First Sentence” by John Holloway
Holloway, J. (2015). Read Capital: The first sentence. Historical Materialism, 23(3), 3–26. https://doi.org/10.1163/1569206X-12341340
John Holloway’s article, “Read Capital: The First Sentence,” delves into a critical reinterpretation of the first sentence of Marx’s Capital. Holloway argues that contrary to traditional readings, Marx does not start his analysis with the commodity, but with wealth. This distinction carries significant theoretical and political implications, as it challenges conventional understandings of Marx’s critique of political economy and the nature of capitalist societies.
Key Arguments
1. Starting with Wealth, Not Commodity: Holloway emphasizes that the first sentence of Capital focuses on “the wealth of societies in which the capitalist mode of production prevails,” rather than immediately jumping into an analysis of commodities. This wealth, according to Holloway, is not just material but encompasses the broader concept of richness — the universality of human needs, capacities, and creative potentialities.
2. The Appearance of Wealth as Commodities: Holloway scrutinizes the phrase “appears as an immense collection of commodities,” suggesting that wealth’s appearance as commodities is not merely a perception but a real, structured form of existence within capitalist societies. This appearance, however, is inherently antagonistic, as it conceals the richer, more diverse forms of human creativity and potential that lie beneath the commodity form.
3. Ecstatic Relationship between Wealth and Commodity: Holloway introduces the idea of an “ec-static” relationship, wherein wealth exists in, against, and beyond the confines of capitalist commodity forms. This misfit suggests that wealth is not fully subsumed under the capitalist mode of production but constantly overflows it, pushing towards alternative forms of existence and social relations.
4. Crisis and Resistance: The transformation of wealth into commodities is not a completed process but an ongoing struggle, where the appearance of wealth as commodities is always under threat from the wealth that does not conform. Holloway views this as a dynamic battlefield, where human creativity continually resists being reduced to commodity form, embodying the crisis of capitalist social relations.
Reflective Insights
Holloway’s reinterpretation of Marx’s starting point is a provocative call to rethink not just the critique of political economy but also the nature of anti-capitalist struggle. By emphasizing wealth as the true subject, Holloway aligns the analysis of capitalism with an emancipatory perspective that foregrounds human creativity and potential over rigid structural determinism.
This approach challenges readers to reconsider how they engage with Marx’s work, moving away from seeing Capital merely as an account of capitalist domination and towards viewing it as a theory of struggle and misfit. Holloway’s focus on the ecstatic relation between wealth and commodities provides a powerful framework for understanding capitalism not as a static system but as an arena of perpetual conflict and possibility.
Furthermore, Holloway’s argument opens up space for hope, positioning wealth as a site of resistance that constantly pushes beyond its commodified form. This interpretation resonates with contemporary movements that seek to reclaim the commons, resist commodification, and imagine new forms of social cooperation beyond capitalist constraints.
Conclusion
Holloway’s article is a compelling and radical rethinking of Marx’s Capital that shifts the focus from commodities to wealth, highlighting the inherent tensions and struggles within capitalist society. It invites readers to see Capital not just as a critique of economic forms but as a living document of resistance, emphasizing the potential for human creativity to transcend the limitations of the commodity form. Holloway’s work thus serves as both a critique of traditional Marxist interpretations and an inspiration for ongoing struggles against capitalism.
