Marxian Economics: Capital, Labor, and Crisis
Marx's analysis of capital, labor, value, and crisis, and the many traditions it inspired, from classical Marxian theory to modern political economy and world-systems analysis. Study it rigorously, 1-on-1 with expert professors.
Marxian Economics is one of the focuses you can choose in Elton's Heterodox Economics graduate certificate and master's concentration. Study it in depth, compare it with other traditions, or build your own synthesis, guided by professors who know each school well.
Start Immediately. $18,000 Total Tuition. Graduate Certificate Option.
- 1-on-1 Expert Professors
- Study Any School Side by Side
- 100% Remote & Flexible
- Keep Your Job
What Is Marxian Economics?
Karl Marx was one of the great classical economists. In Capital (1867) he took the labor theory of value from Adam Smith and David Ricardo and used it to ask where profit comes from, why capitalism grows so dynamically, and why it is prone to recurring crises.
His ideas launched many traditions: Rosa Luxemburg and Rudolf Hilferding on finance and empire, Paul Baran and Paul Sweezy on monopoly capital, Immanuel Wallerstein on the world system, and Anwar Shaikh and David Harvey on capitalism today.
You will read Marx closely and in context, learn the economics of value, accumulation, and crisis, and study the long debates his work provoked, including the hard questions raised by the history of planned economies.
Ask Where Profit Comes From
These are the kinds of questions you can explore with your professors:
- Where do profits come from, and how are they shared between workers and owners?
- Why does capitalism grow so dynamically, and why does it fall into crisis?
- How has globalization changed the relationship between rich and poor countries?
- What did Marx get right, what did he get wrong, and how do we know?
Key Thinkers You Will Read
You read the classic texts alongside today's research, so you understand not just what these economists argued but why.
Karl Marx
Capital: value, surplus value, accumulation, and crisis.
Rosa Luxemburg
The accumulation of capital and the role of non-capitalist markets.
Rudolf Hilferding
Finance capital and the merging of banks and industry.
Paul Baran & Paul Sweezy
Monopoly capital and the problem of surplus absorption.
Immanuel Wallerstein
World-systems analysis: core, periphery, and semi-periphery.
Anwar Shaikh
Capitalism: competition, conflict, and crises, tested against data.
Core Ideas
Value & Surplus Value
The labor theory of value, exploitation, and the source of profit.
Accumulation
Reproduction schemes, technological change, and the drive to accumulate.
Theories of Crisis
The falling rate of profit, underconsumption, and disproportionality debates.
Monopoly & Finance
Hilferding, Baran, and Sweezy on concentration, finance, and the modern corporation.
World-Systems & Imperialism
Unequal exchange, dependency theory, and the global division of labor.
Marx After Sraffa
The transformation problem, analytical Marxism, and modern quantitative Marxian economics.
Debates and Critiques
Since Böhm-Bawerk, critics have challenged the labor theory of value and the "transformation problem" of turning values into prices. Sraffians argue value theory is unnecessary for the core results. The record of Soviet-style planning raises its own questions. You will study these critiques, the Marxian replies, and the empirical work that tests Marxian claims.
Elton's program is pluralist: your professors help you understand each school on its own terms, weigh it fairly against the evidence, and reach your own conclusions.
Learn 1-on-1 With Expert Professors
Map Your Interests
With your advisor, build a learning plan around Marxian Economics and the fields and questions you care about most.
Meet Your Professors
Meet each week in tutorials of one to three students. Read, discuss, and get feedback on your work from economists who know the tradition well.
Build Real Work
Write policy briefs, build models, analyze data, and research the questions that matter to you, with your professors guiding every step.
Graduate With a Portfolio
Leave with research papers, analyses, and policy proposals that show how you think, ready to share with employers or journals.
Eligibility
To enroll in a master's program or graduate certificate, you need one of the following:
- A bachelor's degree, or
- Some college and 5 years of relevant work experience, or
- Proof of your ability to engage in master's-level study.
No standardized tests are required: no GRE, no GMAT.
Same Tuition as the Economics Program: $18,000
Marxian Economics is a focus within Elton's economics graduate certificate and master's concentration, so it shares the same tuition, financial aid, and timeline: $18,000 total, with a 10% discount if you pay in full upon enrollment. The graduate certificate on its own is $8,000.
- Start Immediately - Other programs require you wait until September or January to start. With Elton you can start immediately.
- No Risk First Month - If during the first month you or Elton decide that you are not a fit for the university, you will receive a full refund.
- Stacking Credentials - If you stop the program early, you still earn your graduate certificate in economics if you have completed 1/3 of the program.
Frequently Asked Questions About Marxian Economics
What is Marxian economics?
Is this a political program?
Is Marxian Economics a separate degree?
Can I study other schools of thought too?
Other Schools of Economic Thought
- Institutional Economics
- Post-Keynesian Economics
- Modern Monetary Theory
- Ecological Economics
- Austrian Economics
- Feminist Economics
- Production-Side Economics
- Sraffian Economics
- Social Economics
- Georgist Economics
- Socialist & Collective Production
- History of Economics
New to the field? Start with our beginner's guide to heterodox economics.
