A short note on the averaging to determine value in sectors with uneven
rates of technical change: although Marx doesn't introduce the point
until Volume III, it may be worth pointing out that market
considerations ultimately play a role here. If the most technically (and
organizationally) advanced producers can meet the entire market demand,
less advanced producers go out of business and no averaging takes place.
If demand levels exceed what the most advanced producers can deliver,
there is space for less efficient producers to survive. The role the
output of these less efficient producers will play in the averaging
process then differs from case to case, depending on the relative size
of the market share left to them.
Tony Smith (tonys@iastate.edu)