Das Kapital Democritus (circa 460–370 BC) and Epicurus (341–270 BC). The logical architecture of "Das Kapital" is derived in part from the "Politics" and the "Nicomachean Ethics" by Aristotle, including the fundamental distinction between use value and exchange value, the "syllogisms" (C-M-C' and M-C-M') for simple commodity circulation and the circulation of value as capital. Moreover, the description of machinery, under capitalist relations of production, as "self-acting automata" derives from Aristotle’s speculations about inanimate instruments capable of obeying commands as the condition for the abolition of slavery. In the nineteenth century, Marx’s research of the available politico-economic literature required twelve years, usually
The Communist Manifesto in the hands of shop-window mannequins, displayed in come-hither poses and fashionable décolletage." A number of late-20th- and 21st-century writers have commented on the "Communist Manifesto"s continuing relevance. In a special issue of the "Socialist Register" commemorating the "Manifesto"s 150th anniversary, Peter Osborne argued that it was 'the single most influential text written in the nineteenth century.' Academic John Raines in 2002 noted that "In our day this Capitalist Revolution has reached the farthest corners of the earth. The tool of money has produced the miracle of the new global market and the ubiquitous shopping mall. Read "The Communist Manifesto",