Capital: A Critique of Political Economy, also known as Das Kapital, is a foundational text in Marxist theory by Karl Marx. His magnum opus, the work is a critical analysis of political economy, meant to reveal the economic patterns underpinning the capitalist mode of production. Capital is divided into three volumes, of which only the first was published during Marx's lifetime, in 1867; the others were completed from his manuscripts and published by his collaborator Friedrich Engels in 1885 and 1894.