We begin our study of Capital, vol. 1 by discussing what it means to read, study, and apply the book as comrades in the struggle for socialism in the U.S. today. We situate our reading within the struggle to not only popularize and give definition to socialism, but to establish Marxism as the guiding theory of struggles. Next, we cover some of the history and context of the book and finally examine the Prefaces and Afterwords by Marx and Engels, we introduce the form, content, methodology, and context of Capital, vol. 1, paying particular attention to Marx’s method of abstraction. Contact us with questions or feedback at [email protected]