Marx’s Grundrisse, and Labour as ‘Not-Capital’: Roman Rosdolsky, Antonio Negri, Mario Tronti

Often referred to as the first draft of Capital, the Grundrisse marks the point at which Marx’s mature critique of political economy truly begins to take shape. Chapter 2 looks at the passages on labour as ‘not-capital’ and ‘not-value’ found in the Grundrisse and tries to get a better understanding of what Marx was doing there. The chapter argues that these often overlooked references contain something of significance that has been missed by traditional readings of Marx’s theory. As these references are not systematically developed by Marx himself and are open to competing interpretations, it does so through a detailed engagement with some of the most influential secondary literature on the Grundrisse—specifically that of Roman Rosdolsky, Antonio Negri, and Mario Tronti.