From: Hans G. Ehrbar (ehrbar@LISTS.ECON.UTAH.EDU)
Date: Sat Apr 16 2005 - 01:54:18 EDT
Hello, I received this announcement because the editor and translator used the translation in my Annotations, but I think it may also be of interest to others. Hans Ehrbar - ------- Start of forwarded message ------- Date: Tue, 12 Apr 2005 17:55:19 +0900 (JST) From: Roy West <roywestjp@yahoo.co.jp> Subject: New Book on Marx's Labor Theory of Value In March of this year a book entitled Marx's Labor Theory of Value: A Defense, by Japanese Marxist Hayashi Hiroyoshi, was published by iUniverse, Inc. As the translator and editor, I am writing to individuals and organizations throughout the world who have an interest in Marx to draw their attention to this book's existence. The book is divided into six chapters, each addressing a different theoretical issue. The core of the book is the first chapter, which introduces Marx's labor theory of value by means of closely examining the first three chapters (part one) of Capital and also critically examining the ideas of those who have rejected Marx's theory (such as Bohm-Bawkerk and the Japanese "Marxist" Uno Kozo.) This first chapter emphasizes the particular theoretical task that Marx sets himself in each of the four sections of the first chapter and in chapters two and three. In addition to this discussion of part one of Capital, chapter one also introduces Marx's theory of "exploitation" and discusses how things that are not the product of labor and have no inherent value can also assume the "commodity form" Chapter two introduces Adam Smith's theory of value, which is a mixture of various "moments" of value theories, including Marx's labor theory of value as well as subjective theories of value and the tautological view of value as being composed of wages, profit and rent. Chapter three introduces Marx's theory of credit presented in the third volume of Capital. This chapter, which is premised on the understanding of the concepts of value and the commodity introduced in chapter one, looks at the role of credit within capitalist production and elucidates the peculiar phenomenon of money (as capital) becoming a "commodity." Chapter four takes a look at Marx's theory of ground-rent, also discussed in volume three of Capital. Hayashi looks at the distinction and relation between differential rent, absolute rent, and pure monopoly rent. Like the chapter on credit, this chapter is premised on an understanding of how surplus-value arises through the production process, presented in chapter one of Marx's Labor Theory of Value, (as well on more concrete, complex concepts such as production price and the formation of average profit). The final two chapters look at the concept of productive labor. Chapter five discusses, in great detail, the "original definition" of productive labor, which penetrates all forms of society, and the "formal" or "historical" concept of productive labor under capitalism. Rather than simply juxtaposing the two definitions, however, Hayashi elucidates the essential relation between them. The final chapter, building on this understanding of the distinction between productive and unproductive labor, critically examines the views of self-proclaimed Marxists in Japan who have attempted to blur this distinction and even argue that "service labor" is somehow productive. In addition to these six chapters, I have written a lengthy introduction that focuses on the role Hayashi has played as a revolutionary socialist in Japan, beginning with his participation in the 1960 "anti-Anpo" movement as a university student. I also try to highlight the connection between Hayashi's theoretical efforts -- particularly his insistence on Marx's labor theory of value -- and the direction of the socialist movement he has been involved in. If you would like to get a better idea of the content of Marx's Labor Theory of Value, it can be browsed on-line at the iUniverse.com site: http://www.iuniverse.com/bookstore/book_detail.asp?&isbn=0-595-34600-6 The book can be ordered from iUniverse, and is also available from www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com (Please note that my name, Roy West, has been incorrectly listed as the author on these websites.) Please feel free to visit the website of the Marxist Comrades Group (www.mcg-j.org) to read various articles and essays by Hayashi and others that I have translated, regarding Marx's thought, socialism, and other topics. Thank you for taking the time to read this and please contact me if you have any questions regarding Marx's Labor Theory of Value. Comradely, Roy West ------- End of forwarded message -------
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