The ontology of social relations in Marx's Capital

Abstract

This thesis aims to read Marx's analysis of value as suggesting an ontology of social relations. To this aim, I will first provide a preliminary account of Marx's philosophy in Capital with a view to expounding the basis of my ontological reading. In the first chapter, I will set forth Marx's ontological distinction between real relations and their forms of appearance, and argue that the twofold social reality of the capitalist mode of production constitutes the sphere of his ontology. In the second and third chapters, I will focus on Marx's theory of value as it is developed in the first chapter of Capital, and discuss his analysis of the commodity in terms of his ontological distinction. Finally, in the fourth chapter, I will present Marx's ontology and argue that the gist of this ontology lies in his depiction of the social as an element accompanying the materiality of being. I will further argue that Marx's introduction of the social into his ontological analysis is complemented by his critique of the capitalist social relations, which results in a critical ontology.