[OPE-L:4621] THIS MONTH IN REVIEW [March, 1997]

Gerald Lev (glevy@pratt.edu)
Mon, 31 Mar 1997 10:56:21 -0800 (PST)

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We have -49- members.

So far, -30- members wrote posts in March, which began with
[OPE-L:4266].

TOPICS DISCUSSED THIS MONTH
---------------------------

A. The threads discussed at *greatest* length (20 or more posts) were:

o MANDEL VS. BARAN-SWEEZY (-31- posts);

o MARX'S UNPUBLISHED WRITINGS [continued from February; includes
"Marx, Engels, & Heinrich", "An Engels rewrite in the chapter 'the
role of credit'", "cost-price and all that", "cost-price and
Volume 3", "profit and volume 3", "Vol III", "Volume 3 complete?"]
(-25- posts);

o PROBLEMS IN V3 [arose out of "Marx's unpublished writings" thread;
concerns depreciation and profit rates; related to previous
discussions on depreciation] (-30- posts);

o K-M [KLIMAN-McGLONE] INTERPRETATION OF THE TRANSFORMATION PROBLEM
[related to previous discussions on TSS and transformation; began
this month with Fred's #4367; includes "K-M's concept of
'revenue'", "changing prices in K-M's interpretation", "sport",
"not cricket", "Is Fred a 'newsolutionist'?", "TSS transformation
procedure", "transformation"] (-35- posts);

o SRAFFA: A MARXIST ECONOMIST? [arose out of K-M thread; includes
"who you calling 'chic'?", "In defense of Sraffa's Marxism"] (-27-
posts);

o DUNCAN'S VINTAGES [out of "A contribution ..."] (-31- posts);

o FOUR-CORNERED TRIANGLE [out of "surplus value and capitalist
consumption" thread; includes "value ==> sale?" and "hemlock"]
(-23- posts).

B. Other threads that we discussed *at length* (10-19 posts) included:

o BOOKS 4-6 REVISITED [continued; includes "the end of *Capital* and
Book II"] (16);

o PRODUCED AND REALIZED PROFIT [out of "profit and Volume 3";
includes "surplus value 'produced' and 'realized'"] (14);

o A CONTRIBUTION TO THE ONGOING INQUIRY INTO THE EXISTENCE OF MARX'S
MARXISM [concerns the draft of Andrew K's EEA paper. See his
{4427-28; 30; 50}; includes "Professors Kliman and Foley"] (13);

o GIVEN'S IN MARX'S THEORY [continued from Fall; out of K-M thread
this month; includes "what are we fighting for?"] (13).

C. *Other topics discussed* included:


o BRAZILIAN DIAMONDS AND VALUE (9);

o DETERMINATION OF REAL WAGES [out of "Mandel vs. Baran-Sweezy";
includes "Books 2-6 and determination of real wages"] (9);

o TRANSFORMATION AND FIXED CAPITAL [including "RRI and the rate of
profit"];

o THE PRACTICAL STATUS OF BUTTER KNIVES [began as response to
Allin's #4514];

o SURPLUS VALUE AND CAPITALIST CONSUMPTION [out of "In Defense of
Marx's Marxism"];

o LAWS OF MOTION [out of "transformation and fixed capital"];

o EXCLUSION ORDERS [out of Sraffa thread; includes "In Defense of
Lutheran Marxism"];

o THE ANALYTICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF PRODUCTION PERIODS [continued from
February; includes "reproduction schema and equilibrium"];

o DISSERTATION TOPICS [continued from February];

o ALTHUSSER AND HEGEL [out of "Marx's unpublished writings"];

o ANALYSING THE RATE OF PROFIT [out of "Mandel vs. Baran-Sweezy"];

o EMPIRICAL WORK [out of Sraffa thread];

o MEL AND THE DETERMINATION OF VALUE [continued from February];

o VARIABLE CAPITAL AND TIME [continued from February];

o IN DEFENSE OF MARX'S MARXISM [out of K-M thread; also relates to
"givens" thread];

o TED [McGLONE]'S EEA PAPER [see 4596-7].

D. *Procedural discussions* included:


o REORGANIZING OPE-L [arose out of "Books 4-6" thread; see Paul C's
#4296]. Concerned *direction* of discussions. No decisions made,
although there was wide agreement that listmembers should continue
to raise any topics for discussion that they believe are relevant
to both "Capital" and "post-Capital" subjects.

o LIST CULTURE AND FLAMES [began as "culture"]. Concerned list
policy regarding flames. No formal decision was made but there was
support for continuing the existing policy.

-----------------------
OVERALL, March saw the *beginning of Spring*. We saw a dramatic increase
in list activity as volume and participation soared upward. Alongside
those increases, we also saw the emergence of a number of new threads that
hadn't been discussed previously -- as well as the continuation of a
number of often-discussed themes.

With the beginning of April, we will no doubt continue a number of threads
discussed in March (and before). No doubt, list volume and participation
will be affected by the mini-conference of the International Working
Group on Value Theory to be held in early April in Washington, DC which
many listmembers are planning on attending.

In solidarity, Jerry

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