Do you know much about the work of Marx and Engels? He wrote little about Socialism, and even less about Communism.
His main work was about Capitalism - understanding it, studying it, explaining its flaws and failings, and predicting where Capitalism eventually leads.
If you want to TRULY understand Capitalism, STUDY the 3 volumes of Das Kapital (and not hacks like Ludwig Von Misses, Milton Friedman, etc.). Adam Smith also did good work on Capitalism - and Marx truly respected Adam Smith.
(1) Das Kapital Volume 1: Talks about the Capitalist mode of Production (and how production differs under different systems)
(2) Das Kapital Volume 2: Talks about how money "circulates" in the system of Capitalism (including the process of accumulation of capital)
(3) Das Kapital Volume 3: Talks/Analyzes the complete system of Capitalism - all aspects of it - putting all the different parts of the system together to explain how Capitalism ALWAYS leads to cycles of Booms and Busts - it is an intrinsic characteristic of Capitalism. It talks about the failures/weaknesses/faults in the system of Capitalism and how it leads to problems in the world.
So, YES - if you want to REALLY understand Capitalism, read Marx and Engels (everything else is secondary).
You read Marx for your understanding of capitalism?
Do you know much about the work of Marx and Engels? He wrote little about Socialism, and even less about Communism.
His main work was about Capitalism - understanding it, studying it, explaining its flaws and failings, and predicting where Capitalism eventually leads.
If you want to TRULY understand Capitalism, STUDY the 3 volumes of Das Kapital (and not hacks like Ludwig Von Misses, Milton Friedman, etc.). Adam Smith also did good work on Capitalism - and Marx truly respected Adam Smith.
(1) Das Kapital Volume 1: Talks about the Capitalist mode of Production (and how production differs under different systems)
(2) Das Kapital Volume 2: Talks about how money "circulates" in the system of Capitalism (including the process of accumulation of capital)
(3) Das Kapital Volume 3: Talks/Analyzes the complete system of Capitalism - all aspects of it - putting all the different parts of the system together to explain how Capitalism ALWAYS leads to cycles of Booms and Busts - it is an intrinsic characteristic of Capitalism. It talks about the failures/weaknesses/faults in the system of Capitalism and how it leads to problems in the world.
So, YES - if you want to REALLY understand Capitalism, read Marx and Engels (everything else is secondary).