This work was written in 1897. Lenin highlights the inevitable nature of economic crises in capitalism as a result of capitalist development and the intensification of the contradictions that accompany it.

Lenin responds to his contemporaries who reproduced the theoretical analyses of Z. Sismondi (1773-1842). Sismondi recognized the miseries of capitalism and argued that underconsumption is the cause of crises, proposing as a solution a return to earlier forms of production organized on a smaller scale.

At the same time, he supported income redistribution as a means to prevent crises and reduce worker poverty. Lenin emphasizes the utopian character of the desire to regulate the capitalist economy in a way that would bring prosperity to workers and longevity to the capitalist mode of production - highlighting the necessity of a radical overthrow of it.

Reading this work reveals how ancient the corresponding economic ideas are, which are today presented as new thinking. Thus, this work not only captures a historical economic debate but also serves as a useful tool for understanding contemporary economic discussions.