The Genesis of Capital is one of the oldest, yet most significant works of Karl Marx. In the few pages of the book, Marx defines the term capital, which is the essence of the capitalist, or as we are accustomed to saying, capitalist social system.

And even with the title of the book, he clarifies that capital, in the form he defines, did not always exist. It was born at a certain moment within the feudal social and economic system. This birth is a slow process that varies from place to place, but ultimately results in what Marx calls capital, a term that is widely accepted today.

(. . .) [Excerpt from the text of the preface]