this post was submitted on 04 Jan 2026
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Hop in, comrades, we are reading Capital Volumes I-III this year, and we will every year until Communism is achieved. (Volume IV, often published under the title Theories of Surplus Value, will not be included, but comrades are welcome to set up other bookclubs.) This works out to about 6½ pages a day for a year, 46 pages a week.

I'll post the readings at the start of each week and @mention anybody interested. Let me know if you want to be added or removed.

Week 1, January 4 - January 11, Volume 1 Chapter 1 'The Commodity'

This is the very first bookclub post, so get to know each other, ask questions about the basic premise, just keep mostly on-topic. This didn't start on January 1st because I want it to start and end on the weekend. @'ing everyone mid-Thursday probably wouldn't have gotten very many readers.

Discuss the week's reading in the comments.

Use any translation/edition you like. Marxists.org has the Moore and Aveling translation in various file formats including epub and PDF.

AernaLingus says: I noticed that the linked copy of the Fowkes translation doesn't have bookmarks, so I took the liberty of adding them myself. You can either download my version with the bookmarks added or if you're a bit paranoid (can't blame ya) and don't mind some light command line work you can use the same simple script that I did with my formatted plaintext bookmarks to take the PDF from libgen and add the bookmarks yourself. Also, please let me know if you spot any errors with the bookmarks so I can fix them!


Resources

(These are not expected reading, these are here to help you if you so choose)


2024 Archived Discussions

If you want to dig back into older discussions, this is an excellent way to do so.

Archives:

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2025 Archived Discussions

If you want to dig back into older discussions, this is an excellent way to do so.

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2026 Archived Discussions

Just joining us? You can use the archives below to help you reading up to where the group is. There is another reading group on a different schedule at https://lemmygrad.ml/c/genzhou (federated at !genzhou@lemmygrad.ml ) which may fit your schedule better. The idea is for the bookclub to repeat annually, so there's always next year.

N/A

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[–] oscardejarjayes@hexbear.net 16 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (14 children)

Hey everyone, Capital bookclub is starting from the top again! If any friends missed the last one, bring 'em on over here. Just participate anywhere in the current 2026 thread, whichever thread that might be, to be added to the notification list. DM or reply to this comment asking to be removed if you wish to be removed.

Notification List

@FromPieces@lemmygrad.ml @roux@hexbear.net @0__0@hexbear.net @bennieandthez@lemmygrad.ml @pierre_delecto@hexbear.net @StillNoLeftLeft@hexbear.net @RedWizard@hexbear.net @o_d@lemmygrad.ml @real@hexbear.net @Sasuke@hexbear.net @ComradeSpahija@hexbear.net @NinjaGinga@hexbear.net @SabbaticGoat@hexbear.net @woodenghost@hexbear.net @Parsani@hexbear.net @radio_free_asgarthr@hexbear.net @pr0kch0p@hexbear.net @NedIsakoff@hexbear.net @LibsEatPoop@hexbear.net @LisaTrevor@hexbear.net @AernaLingus@hexbear.net @devils_dust@hexbear.net @burntpopcorn@hexbear.net @ExtimateCookie@hexbear.net @oscardejarjayes@hexbear.net @CarlMarks@lemmygrad.ml @blackbread@lemmygrad.ml @imogen_underscore@hexbear.net @khizuo@hexbear.net @glimmer_twin@hexbear.net @Sebrof@hexbear.net @CommieTurtle@lemmy.ml @CARCOSA@hexbear.net @jacab@hexbear.net @Cowbee@hexbear.net @SwitchyandWitchy@hexbear.net @comrade_pibb@hexbear.net @No_Bark@lemmy.dbzer0.com @luxurycommunism@hexbear.net @playvind@lemmy.dbzer0.com @dove_milk@hexbear.net @SockOlm@hexbear.net @SteamedHamberder@hexbear.net @mendiCAN@hexbear.net @XxFemboy_Stalin_420_69xX@hexbear.net @Atlas@lemmygrad.ml into_highest_invite@lemmygrad.ml

[–] SwitchyandWitchy@hexbear.net 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Can you add me to the list?

[–] comrade_pibb@hexbear.net 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

List add plz. 2026 is the year I finally tackle capital

[–] oscardejarjayes@hexbear.net 3 points 1 month ago

List add

Done!

plz

A little bit of politeness goes a long way

2026 is the year I finally tackle capital

You better believe I'll be holding you to your word on that over the course of this year.

Personally, it took my quite a few years of reading through Das Kapital to actually finish all three volumes. My copy of the first volume is super worn down, from all the times I've started off trying to go through Capital, but had to give up after only finishing the first volume. It's a little ironic, since the first volume is generally considered the driest and most boring, while the series gets progressively better until the peak of volume 3.

[–] SteamedHamberder@hexbear.net 3 points 1 month ago

Add please!

[–] dove_milk@hexbear.net 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)
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[–] SockOlm@hexbear.net 3 points 1 month ago
[–] quarrk@hexbear.net 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Please remove me from the list. I’ll keep an eye on pinned posts to keep track.

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[–] No_Bark@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Add me too please. Thanks!

[–] luxurycommunism@hexbear.net 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)
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[–] mendiCAN@hexbear.net 3 points 1 month ago

add me to da list please

[–] Atlas@lemmygrad.ml 3 points 1 month ago

I'll join! :)

add me to the list please! been looking at my copy of capital intimidating me from the shelf for far too long haha

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[–] GrainEater@lemmygrad.ml 8 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

(PSA: the reading group on Lemmygrad is not on hiatus, we've just moved to /c/theory@lemmygrad.ml)

[–] oscardejarjayes@hexbear.net 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Ok, good to know. I'll fix the post.

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[–] quarrk@hexbear.net 8 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (5 children)

I wish there was a better tool for these clubs. Lemmy doesn’t have a proper Watch feature for new comments, so it is not motivating to add a comment on day 6 of a thread, because no one will see it, let alone commenting on a past week’s thread.

Thanks oscardejarjayes for hosting this year!

[–] oscardejarjayes@hexbear.net 8 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Yeah, Lemmy isn't built for bookclubs. We could have a custom sorting algorithm to cater to bookclubs or something, and some kind of watch feature would be nice, but I think Lemmy is just not a very good place to hold bookclubs. In-person is book club king, and everything else is just a pale immitation. If we want to go one step further, moving off-platform might be a good decision. We might have to write it ourselves, but a Hexbear linked Bookclub virtual meeting space is very interesting.

You're welcome, I'm always happy to serve my community! Cowbee's my Lemmy hero, so I love to follow in his footsteps, and help out continuing his work.

[–] CARCOSA@hexbear.net 5 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

@marxisthayaca@hexbear.net did a book club for a few years using an off-site resource.

It was perusall https://hexbear.net/post/108398

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[–] Sebrof@hexbear.net 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I've definitely had that thought too. Last year I fell behind. And I debated on posting comments on older threads where nobody would revisit them thonk

[–] Cowbee@hexbear.net 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Please do! That's why we link them!

[–] WokePalpatine@hexbear.net 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

People should sort by new by default and then upvote the comments they've read, maybe.

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[–] SevenSkalls@hexbear.net 6 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Maybe I'll actually try this this year.

[–] Beaver@hexbear.net 5 points 1 month ago

You should go for it!

[–] Cowbee@hexbear.net 4 points 1 month ago
[–] Cowbee@hexbear.net 6 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Good luck everyone this year! The first 3 chapters of Volume 1 are the toughest to get through, but once you're through those it's pretty smooth sailing from there!

And thanks for hosting it this year, @oscardejarjayes@hexbear.net!

party-blob

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[–] luxurycommunism@hexbear.net 6 points 1 month ago (3 children)

Will anyone else be using the Paul Reitter translation? I picked up a copy last year and have been looking for a reason to read it

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[–] devils_dust@hexbear.net 5 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Can you add me again when reading volume 3? That's the one I missed last year

[–] Beaver@hexbear.net 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Should be September when Vol 3 starts up. Do you have a way to set yourself a reminder?

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[–] WokePalpatine@hexbear.net 3 points 1 month ago

I wonder if having the thread cover all 3 volumes (or 3 threads going at once or something) would work.

[–] SteamedHamberder@hexbear.net 4 points 1 month ago

rat-salute-2 reporting for duty

[–] AernaLingus@hexbear.net 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

noooo I'm already behind screm-aaaaa aaaa

not sure I'll manage to finish chapter 1 in time, but hopefully I'll be caught up through chapter 2 by the end of next week's thread. I guess ideally I'd be done with chapter 3 in time for week 3's thread, but that seems like wishful thinking (I do hope to eventually be ready with a comment by the beginning of each week). Also chapter 1 is gonna be the longest slog both because I've heard it's difficult and because I'm reading all the (checks) four separate forewords/prefaces/introductions that are in my edition (I'm using the new Reitter translation). So if I can power through this, I can go the distance!

edit: locked in today and powered through all the prefaces, so I can tackle Chapter 1 tomorrow! Much excite niko-dance

[–] SwitchyandWitchy@hexbear.net 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I'm behind too catgirl-cry I have no idea where the week went but fuck it I will figure it out somehow.

[–] AernaLingus@hexbear.net 3 points 1 month ago

You got this! It's no big deal if you're a bit behind at the start, anyhow—it is a year-long reading group, after all, so you've got plenty of time to catch up. The first few chapters are supposed to be the toughest, so don't let that discourage you—just try to read a bit every day, and you'll get there! I've been doing a half hour here, a half hour there, and I think I should finish chapter one in the next day or two. As soon as I can feel my eyes start to glaze over and notice I'm re-reading the same paragraph over and over, I know it's time to take a break and do something else for a bit.

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[–] Blockocheese@hexbear.net 4 points 2 weeks ago (5 children)

There's a spectre haunting this dead thread, and it's me crush

In 2. The dual character of the labor embodied in commodies, when he says that a coat that took half the time to make as another coat has the same quality of useful labor as the coat that took longer, does the quality of useful labor mean like tailoring here?

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[–] meler@hexbear.net 4 points 1 month ago

I wanna be added

[–] LisaTrevor@hexbear.net 3 points 1 month ago

let's goooooo i'm actually prepared this year, i spent december finally understanding what the transformation problem is about and now i'm itching to actually make it to vol. 3

[–] into_highest_invite@lemmygrad.ml 3 points 1 month ago (6 children)

karl marx debunked the "marginal revolution" on literally the first page of capital

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[–] WokePalpatine@hexbear.net 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Did Aveling/Engels translate all 3 volumes? I'd really like to read his translations since it seems like they use less obscurantist language than the Penguin Books versions I have.

[–] quarrk@hexbear.net 4 points 1 month ago

The first English translation of Volume 1 was published in 1887 by Edward Aveling and Samuel Moore. The first English translations of Volumes 2 and 3 were published in 1907 and 1909, respectively, by Ernest Untermann, several years after Aveling died in 1898.

[–] comrade_pibb@hexbear.net 3 points 1 month ago (2 children)

What's the best translation?

[–] Beaver@hexbear.net 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

There's not really a settled answer, but all the English translations are considered pretty good.

The Samuel Moore translation is from the 1887, with Engle's assistance. This is public domain, and is the version on Marxist.org. The language is less modern, so you'll have to be a little bit more studious about looking up definitions for words that are less commonly used today. Still perfectly readable, though.

The Ben Fowkes translation (the 1976 Penguin Classics version) is the most widely read version. You'll be on the same footing in regards to terminology as almost everyone else who reads Capital. The language is more modern than the Samuel Moore translation, but not that modern, being fifty years old. This is the version I read, and I would recommend it.

The Paul Reitter translation is from 2024, and focuses on modernized language, and also preserving some of the original double meanings from German. I've only read the first chapter of this one, and it seems fine. I wouldn't be surprised if this ends up becoming the definitive edition, but time will tell.

[–] DornerStan@lemmygrad.ml 3 points 1 month ago (4 children)

Absolutely the Reitter translation. Also has a professionally-produced audiobook.

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