At this point I can proceed with my reconstruction of Marx's critical theory of capitalist society. Thus far, I have investigated the differences between a traditional Marxist critique from the standpoint of “labor” and the Marxian critique of labor in capitalism, focusing on the categories Marx developed in the initial chapters of Capital, in particular on his conception of the twofold character of labor in capitalism, his distinction between value and material wealth, and his emphasis on the temporal dimension of value.

On the basis of this analysis of the commodity form, I shall now outline an approach to Marx's category of capital. Capital, according to Marx, is a self-moving social mediation that renders modern society intrinsically dynamic and shapes the form of the process of production. He develops this category in Capital by unfolding it dialectically from the commodity, thereby arguing that its basic determinations are implied by the latter social form. By indicating the intrinsic relation of the commodity and capital forms, Marx seeks both to elucidate the basic nature of capital and to render plausible his point of departure—his analysis of the commodity's dual character as the core structure of capitalism. What characterizes capitalism, according to Marx, is that—because of the peculiar nature of its structuring relations—it possesses a fundamental core that embodies its basic features. In his critique of political economy, he tries to establish the existence of this core and demonstrate that it underlies the intrinsic historical dynamic of capitalism.