So far the discussion concerning the transformation
of the inputs in this thread seems to tacitly assume
that Marx's tables somehow represent all capitals.
Yet, as I pointed out previously, Marx himself said
"Those branches of production which constiture natural
_monopolies_ are excluded from this equalisation process
even if their rate of profit is higher than the social
rate." (Marx to Engels, 4/30/1868)
Thus, it seems fairly clear that the constant capital
depicted in Chapter 9 of Vol. III, when summed, is in
no way equal to the total of constant capital. It also
seems clear that unless one assumes away private ownership
of the means of production and, thereby assume away what
Marx calls absolute rent, there is no way to carry out the
"normal" correction of Marx's transformation procedure.
John