Karl Marx, Erik O. Wright and Pierre Bourdieu: Towards a generalization of the theory of capital

Abstract

The aim of this article is to show the evolution of the debate around Marx's theory of capital in contemporary sociology, specifically in the work of Erik O. Wright and Pierre Bourdieu. At first, the Marxist concept of capital is presented as a relational concept, which can take various forms, such as commodity or money. Subsequently, it is pointed out that from the structuralist revision of Marxism, two very different currents emerge. On the one hand, analytical Marxism, which abandons from the labour theory of value, and understands capital fundamentally as a resource. In Wright's case, he extends the concept of means of production to qualification goods and organizational goods, in order to account for exploitation and contradictory positions in class relations. Bourdieu, for his part, develops another strategy. He abstracts the concept of capital to a social relation that both generates and legitimizes social inequalities, Marx's theory being a concrete case of this theory in the field of economic production. From this generalization, Bourdieu develops other forms of capital (cultural, social and symbolic). Both approaches show the great potential of Marx's work to understand contemporary societies.