Since the early 1970s the world economy has been in a state of acute instability. Now the world seems to be facing the most serious crisis of all as the much proclaimed 'free market' teeters on the brink of collapse. In this newly reprinted classic account of Marxist economics, the author explains the essential elements of Marxist analysis and applies these insights to an explanation to what has happened in the world economy over the century since Marx's death.