The DATING PROBLEM OF GRUNDRISSE (1857–1858) NOTEBOOK I

Abstract

This article introduces the issue of dating the Notebook I of Karl Marx (1818-1883)’s Grundrisse (1857–58) to the non-specialist public. According to different editions, including the definitive edition of these notebooks in MEGA-2 II/1, the beginning of the Grundrisse, that is, the “chapter on money”, was written in Notebook I in mid-October 1857. However, the editorial work of MEGA-2 III/8 itself, which focused on the correspondence from 1856 to 1857, shed new light on the dating. That edition reported that the beginning of the writing process occurred, with a certain degree of certainty, in fact as early as January of that year. This correction has remained largely ignored, even in more specialized Marxist circles. This is particularly the case because the three texts—namely, an article by Wygodski, an article by Ossobowa, and a collective monograph published in Russian—which discussed the assumptions surrounding the new dating did not achieve wide circulation. This article discusses the editorial arguments that sustains the new dating and examines some of its consequences, while also presenting certain controversies between the editors, namely Ossobowa and Wygodski, who disagreed on whether Notebook I, written in January 1857, should be considered the beginning of the Grundrisse. In addition, it argues that a new interpretative approach should take into account at least three attempts at initiating the systematization of what would become the Grundrisse. Finally, given that Notebook I was not published in its entirety in MEGA-2 II/1, some partial publications of the material preceding the “chapter on money” are indicated, in order to better contextualize Marx’s themes and objects of research.