Part 1: Definitions 1. Introduction: Social Kinds in Social Theory Realism For Homo Sapiens Natural Kinds Social Kinds Arguing For Social Kinds Naming Kinds Naming The Sensuously Unobservable The Object Of Marx's Capital The Real Definition Of Capital Conclusion: Extracting Realism's Kernel 2. Why is This Labor Value? -- Commodity Producing Labor as a Social Kind The Critique Of Ricardo Marx And Aristotle The Social Form Of Commodity Producing Labor From Aristotle To Contemporary Scientific Realism Enthusiasm For Social Kinds The Kind Constitutive Properties Of The Commodity Form Marx And The Continuity Of Scientific Reference Conclusion (Appendix: Backhaus and the Analysis of Capital's First Chapter) A Remarkable Claim Reconsidering The 'Defectiveness' Of Marx's Presentation Labor As The Substance Of Value 3. Separation and Subordination: The Real Definition of Capital as a Social Kind The Separations Of Capitalist Production Abstraction And Simple Determination The abstraction of 'capital in general' 'The Method of Political Economy' The simple determination of social things The Fundamental Aporia Of Capital Every separation is the separation of a unity Capital's differentia specifica Towards A Real Definition Of Capital Premise: labor's possibility as abstract possibility Starting point: labor's capacity as a commodity for capital Process: labor's activity as the use value of capital Result: labor's objectivity as capital The Real Definition Of Capital Conclusion 4. The Concept of Capital in The Grundrisse Reference Fixing And Marx's Analysis Form determination is causal determination The simplest determination Real definition and reference Categories and convenience Concept and referent Constitutive and attributive properties The concept of a labor-form composite The point however is to transform The Real Definition Of Capital Capital's double separation The three moments of capital The first moment: the simple concept of capital The second moment: the unity of production and valorization The third moment: the unity of production and circulation The machine as an incarnation of capital's double separation The double separation as a barrier to capital Conclusion Part 2: Transformations 5. Value and Contract Formation "Consideration" -- A Point Of Departure The Simple Determination Of Value Generating Law Generating Consciousness From Value To Bargain From Bargain To Legal Obligation Consideration In Anglo-American Law Consideration And Social Reproduction Final Remarks (Appendix: Value as a Social Kind) 6. What Ought to Be Done: Marxism and Normativity A Parable Of Normativity Normative Marxism From Separation To Association 7. Winning the Battle of Democracy "Overthrow Capitalism And Replace It With Something Nice!" Once Again On Separation And Association From The Perspective Of Things To The Perspective Of Persons From Formal Ownership To Real Control Overview: Winning The Battle Of Democracy Democratic Tasks Overcoming the separation of workers from the conditions of production as premise Overcoming the separation of workers from the conditions of production as starting point Overcoming the separation of workers from the conditions of production in the labor process Overcoming the separation of workers from the conditions of production as result Overcoming the separation of units of production Conclusion a CODA Social Kinds Capital As A Social Kind Winning The Battle Of Democracy