At 17:13 05/10/00 +0530, you wrote: > > >Simon Mohun wrote: > >> There are lots of empirical problems, and one needs a feel for plausible >> orders of magnitude. But ex post it's certainly possible to calculate time >> series of the value of money and its inverse. One might not have a theory >> of determination, but at least rough accounting measures are possible (ven >> if they still need more work!) > >____________________ > >So what is your point Simon? I could determine a variable say k, which is a >ratio of the mass of moon to the mass of earth. But what is the point of it, is >my question. Cheers, ajit sinha > Ajit, If I had a theoretical position which allowed me to identify the empirical analogues to Marxian theoretical categories, then I could ex post identify them in an accounting context, and I could compare their temporal movement in terms of what Marxian theory might lead me to expect. And I can do this without necessarily having a good theoretical account of determination of some of the variables. For example, I don't have a secure theory of the value of money, but I know it falls through time because of productivity increases and because of inflation. And even if I don't have a secure theory of inflation I can still measure it. Perhaps measurement is one way in which to approach theoretical understanding. Imperfect and incomplete, but part of scientific progress nonetheless. Simon Dr. Simon Mohun, HoD, Dept of Economics, Queen Mary, University of London, London E1 4NS, UK Tel: +44 (0)20 7882 5089; Fax: +44 (0)20 8983 3580
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