Value and Price: Controversy, Stasis, and Possibility

Controversy has prevailed since the problem of “transforming” values into prices first emerged in the late 19th century. Progress has, regrettably, been hampered by attempts to “vindicate” Marx’s work exactly, rather than treating him as a pioneer upon whom his successors must build, using the lates...

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Main Author: David Laibman
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Pluto Journals 2021-11-01
Series:World Review of Political Economy
Online Access:https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.13169/worlrevipoliecon.12.4.0436
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author David Laibman
author_facet David Laibman
author_sort David Laibman
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description Controversy has prevailed since the problem of “transforming” values into prices first emerged in the late 19th century. Progress has, regrettably, been hampered by attempts to “vindicate” Marx’s work exactly, rather than treating him as a pioneer upon whom his successors must build, using the latest scientific methods. To make progress, the question must be faced squarely: what does the value dimension—assuming that we can define it and determine its properties with rigor and precision—actually do ? How does a value-theoretic political economy provide superior insights into capitalist laws of motion, which could not be attained by critical study of the empirically received categories (prices, wages, profits, production) alone? Insights from Marx and Engels into the formation of a general balance of the opposing class forces of capitalist society may help us in our search for answers to these questions.
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spelling doaj.art-4aad0f85bdd945309827fe59d3d844592023-05-03T14:03:14ZengPluto JournalsWorld Review of Political Economy2042-891X2042-89282021-11-0112443644310.13169/worlrevipoliecon.12.4.0436Value and Price: Controversy, Stasis, and PossibilityDavid LaibmanControversy has prevailed since the problem of “transforming” values into prices first emerged in the late 19th century. Progress has, regrettably, been hampered by attempts to “vindicate” Marx’s work exactly, rather than treating him as a pioneer upon whom his successors must build, using the latest scientific methods. To make progress, the question must be faced squarely: what does the value dimension—assuming that we can define it and determine its properties with rigor and precision—actually do ? How does a value-theoretic political economy provide superior insights into capitalist laws of motion, which could not be attained by critical study of the empirically received categories (prices, wages, profits, production) alone? Insights from Marx and Engels into the formation of a general balance of the opposing class forces of capitalist society may help us in our search for answers to these questions.https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.13169/worlrevipoliecon.12.4.0436
spellingShingle David Laibman
Value and Price: Controversy, Stasis, and Possibility
World Review of Political Economy
title Value and Price: Controversy, Stasis, and Possibility
title_full Value and Price: Controversy, Stasis, and Possibility
title_fullStr Value and Price: Controversy, Stasis, and Possibility
title_full_unstemmed Value and Price: Controversy, Stasis, and Possibility
title_short Value and Price: Controversy, Stasis, and Possibility
title_sort value and price controversy stasis and possibility
url https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.13169/worlrevipoliecon.12.4.0436
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