The Biopolitical Body of Capital: From Labour Value to Labour Legislation

Through a meticulous reconstruction of Marx’s method — moving from abstract to concrete — eminent Marx scholar Jacques Bidet identifies three distinct levels of labour analysis (general, commodity-based, and wage labour), bringing clarity often lost in mainstream commentaries. He critiques influential interpretations by Harvey, Negri, Postone, and others, while acknowledging Marx’s limits in theorizing race, gender, and nation. To address these gaps, Bidet proposes a “Marxist metastructural theory of modernity” that extends Marx’s emancipatory vision.

Accessible yet scholarly, The Biopolitical Body of Capital is ideal for students and researchers in politics, philosophy, economics, sociology, and history. It speaks to readers seeking a politically engaged, analytically precise understanding of Marx’s work — one that resonates with today’s global crises and the urgent need for transformative change.