Some questions concerning Capital volume 1

I have been preoccupied with questions about Karl Marx's Capital volume 1. One question seems frivolous, but I think it has merit. Where should one place Capital on the bookshelf?

I have seen it in the philosophy, economics, and the politics sections of the large bookstores. I prefer to think of it as a book of politics. Marx presents a guide to thinking about working class exploitation, one he hoped would aid in overthrowing the capitalist regime of his time.

There are other elementary questions that may appear frivolous, but I think have merit.

Who are the proletariat today? The cook at the local restaurant earning $14,000 per annum is definitely in. The factory worker earning $40,000 per annum is in. The computer programmer who knows the current hot technology and earns $180,000 per annum may or may not be in. The CEO earning $10,000,000 per annum definitely is not in even though he works for wages.

Who are the capitalists today? The person who owns 10 shares of Coca Cola stock doesn't appear to be much of a capitalist. The person who owns 1,000,000 shares of Coca Cola stock seems a likely candidate for capitalist even though he takes no active part in running the company and his stake is small compared to all shares outstanding.

What is the status of the notion of surplus value given the current state of economic knowledge? How does it translate into modern parlance? These are important questions if one wants to use Capital as a guide to political action.

Whether frivolous or not, these are questions Marx asked and answered. He is dead though. That leaves us to answer the questions without his help. To further complicate matters, the world has changed since his time. Capital does not offer much in the way of practical advice in organizing a modern state and economy. That may sound like heresy to some, but the notion of "from each according to his ability and to each according to his needs" has never been easy to resolve when it comes to cases.

Even though I read Capital a few months ago, I will be reading it again this summer. I have too many unanswered questions.