Re: [OPE-L] Why aren't non-labourers sources of value?

From: Andrew Brown (A.Brown@LUBS.LEEDS.AC.UK)
Date: Thu Apr 07 2005 - 12:31:04 EDT 

Well, mine ends up recognising labour time as the fundamental unit of
cost in any society. And it recognises the product as an embodiment of
labour in any society.
 
Then the inversion of capitalism turns 'embodied' labour into
'congealed' abstract labour and it is obvious that SNLT is its measure.
This often tends to be denied in systematic dialectics despite, for
example, Chris's excellent 'Dialectics of Labour' from which I draw
quite a lot (e.g. labour as concrete universal). Am much closer to Chris
than others on these matters - perhaps my differences with Chris stem
more from other aspects such as the basics of materialist dialectics
whereby exchange value is clear evidence of a power and hence *must*
have a material grounding.
 
Andy 
 
-----Original Message-----
From: OPE-L [mailto:OPE-L@SUS.CSUCHICO.EDU] On Behalf Of Nicola Taylor
Sent: 07 April 2005 17:06
To: OPE-L@SUS.CSUCHICO.EDU
Subject: Re: [OPE-L] Why aren't non-labourers sources of value?
 
Andy,
 
actually, an argument has been presented many times.  Have you seriously
read Reuten, Williams and Chris Arthur on the distinction between labour
and labour power?
 
How is your conception of labour (and labour power) different from
theirs?
 
Nicky

Andrew Brown <A.Brown@LUBS.LEEDS.AC.UK> wrote:
        Rakesh, Nicky and all,
	
        Rakesh is correct imo, with his comment below on Nicky's post.
What I am
        trying to do is answer Rakesh's question. Hegel-inspired
systematic
        dialecticians have never managed this, imo, in part because of
their
        lack of clarity on the nature of labour and labour-power (or
maybe just
        their disagreement with what I take to be the correct conception
of
        'labour')
	
        Many thanks,
	
        Andy 
	
	
	
	
        >(imo) Marx's key insight into the social relations of capital
is
        >that workers trade their labour-power freely. i.e. the crucial
        >distinction is not between humans, land, donkeys etc but
between
        >living *labour* and the *labour power* purchased for wages.
	
	
        And why is the the crucial distinction? An argument has yet to
be
        presented.
	
        Rakesh
 
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