[OPE-L:3643] RE: Re: Re: Cost Price

From: P.J.Wells@open.ac.uk
Date: Fri Aug 11 2000 - 04:47:41 EDT


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Many thanks to Steve for the quote from Wage-Labour and Capital; it seems to
me that this can be read as strong textual evidence for Fred M's (and of
course also Andrew K and Alan F's) interpretation. The crucial words are:

        "If in exchange for these goods [the commodities sold by the
capitalist] he
> receives a quantity of other goods whose production has cost less, he has
> lost. If he receives in exchange for his goods a quantity of other goods
> whose production has cost more, he has gained."
>
        Assuming that Marx understood the "other goods" received by the
capitalist to be means of production, this seems about as clear a statement
as one could wish for that he *intended* a system in which input prices did
not necessarily equal input values, and that his alleged mistake in the
transformation problem was not an oversight.

        Julian



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