David Harvey Books
David Harvey is a British geographer and social theorist known for his critical analysis of capitalism and urbanization. A Distinguished Professor of Anthropology and Geography at the City University of New York (CUNY), he has written extensively on Marxist theory, political economy, and social justice.
Known for: A Companion to Marx’s Capital, Seventeen Contradictions and the End of Capitalism, The Enigma of Capital: And the Crises of Capitalism
Books by David Harvey
A Companion to Marx’s Capital
This book is a detailed guide to Karl Marx’s *Capital, Volume I*, written by the renowned Marxist scholar David Harvey. It provides a chapter-by-chapter commentary that helps readers understand Marx’s...
Seventeen Contradictions and the End of Capitalism
In this work, David Harvey explores the internal contradictions that drive capitalism and ultimately threaten its survival. He identifies seventeen key contradictions—ranging from the tension between ...
The Enigma of Capital: And the Crises of Capitalism
In this influential work, David Harvey explores the internal contradictions of capitalism and how they lead to recurring crises. He examines the 2008 financial collapse as part of a broader pattern of...
Key Insights from David Harvey
Historical Context
When Marx wrote *Capital*, Europe was convulsed by the industrial revolution. Factories multiplied, cities grew, and workers were drawn into conditions of mechanical discipline unknown to earlier generations. Classical political economists — Adam Smith, David Ricardo, and others — had tried to expla...
From A Companion to Marx’s Capital
Commodity and Value
Marx begins *Capital* not with the factory or the worker but with the commodity — the seemingly simple unit of capitalist life. A commodity, as he explains, has both use-value and exchange-value. It fulfills human needs but also exists as an object of trade. The mystery lies in how these two aspects...
From A Companion to Marx’s Capital
Defining Contradiction
To understand capitalism, we must first understand what a contradiction truly is. In Marxist theory, a contradiction is not a simple opposition or inconsistency—it is a dynamic tension that produces movement and change. Capitalism thrives precisely because it harbors these contradictions; it is a sy...
From Seventeen Contradictions and the End of Capitalism
Use Value vs. Exchange Value
One of the foundational contradictions lies between use value and exchange value. Every commodity embodies this duality: it has a practical use, satisfying some human need, and an exchange value, determining its worth in the marketplace. In the capitalist system, exchange value dominates. The capita...
From Seventeen Contradictions and the End of Capitalism
The Nature of Capital
Capital is not a thing—it’s a process. This is the first barrier most of us must overcome. We are used to equating capital with money or physical assets, but capital only comes alive when it flows. It moves through circuits of production, exchange, and consumption. It must be invested, produce surpl...
From The Enigma of Capital: And the Crises of Capitalism
Accumulation and Crisis
Once we recognize that capital must expand continuously, we can begin to understand crisis as an inevitable outcome. The problem begins with overaccumulation—too much capital chasing too few profitable opportunities. Historically, we can trace this tendency through every epoch of industrial developm...
From The Enigma of Capital: And the Crises of Capitalism
About David Harvey
David Harvey is a British geographer and social theorist known for his critical analysis of capitalism and urbanization. A Distinguished Professor of Anthropology and Geography at the City University of New York (CUNY), he has written extensively on Marxist theory, political economy, and social just...
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David Harvey is a British geographer and social theorist known for his critical analysis of capitalism and urbanization. A Distinguished Professor of Anthropology and Geography at the City University of New York (CUNY), he has written extensively on Marxist theory, political economy, and social just...
David Harvey is a British geographer and social theorist known for his critical analysis of capitalism and urbanization. A Distinguished Professor of Anthropology and Geography at the City University of New York (CUNY), he has written extensively on Marxist theory, political economy, and social justice.
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David Harvey is a British geographer and social theorist known for his critical analysis of capitalism and urbanization. A Distinguished Professor of Anthropology and Geography at the City University of New York (CUNY), he has written extensively on Marxist theory, political economy, and social justice.
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