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Paul Z. wrote:
>Actually, I am not so interested in Marx's opinion of Malthus as his
>opinion of bourgeois political economy and productive/unproductive labor.
The "heart of the matter" here is, I believe, indeed the question of what
activities contribute to (maximum) profits, and which detract from it (an
issue which the bourgeoisie can only resolve pragmatically, as it did
spectacularly e.g. in New Zealand), just as the "heart of the matter" in
the controversy about the Marxist theory of money is the question of gold.
I would emphasise again the point that, in different times and places,
different theories of productive and unproductive labour in relation to
profitability are developed, and that those theories can have real effects
(are not just ideological rationalisations after the fact).
Bourgeois political economy includes not just micro-economics and
macro-economics, but also "economic philosophy", and this philosophy
frequently has far greater impact on social consciousness and
political-economic events. For example, Milton Friedman's book "Freedom to
choose".
In solidarity
Jurriaan
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