My view is that Samuelsons paper is formally correct but that in its proposed field of application it makes a couple of illicit ideological equations. I enclose a paper of which about 1 third is devoted to discussing samuelsons article. Paul Cockshott paul@cockshott.com ----- Original Message ----- From: Patrick L. Mason <pmason@garnet.acns.fsu.edu> To: <ope-l@galaxy.csuchico.edu> Sent: Wednesday, October 04, 2000 8:18 PM Subject: [OPE-L:3951] Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: The Transformation Problem > > Paul: > > You stopped your note just when it was getting interesting. What's the > implication of Samuelson's paper and is/was he correct? > > peace, patrick l mason > > At 03:29 PM 10/4/00 +0100, you wrote: > >Note that the definition of value in vol 1 is done in abstraction from > >changes in technology over time. In vol 1 a change in technology > >changes values, but there is not systematic treatment of > >the effect of a continuous rate of change of technology on > >the definition of commodity values. > > > >It strikes me as illegitimate to try and reconcile prices of production > >computed on a temporal basis with value defined on a non temporal > >basis. > > > >Once you deal with continuous rates of change of labour productivity > >then you are stepping outside the theoretical space on which the original > >theory of value was based. Samuelson attempted do deal with this > >problem of continuous change in labour productivity and its implication > >for labour values in his paper 'A new labour theory of value for rational > >planning through the use of the bourgeois profit rate' > > > >Paul Cockshott > >paul@cockshott.com > > > Rakesh wrote > > > This is not true. As I noted to Allin who did not reply, Marx is > > > already investigating in ch 9 why the prices of production in a > > > particular sphere are undergoing changes of magnitude (see capital 3, > > > p. 265ff. Vintage; see also p. 270-1 where marx refers to the rise of fall > > > of the portion of cost price which represents constant capital in a given > > > sphere of production; note also p.271-2 where Marx analyzes the impact of > > > rising productivity). So there is no reason for the stricture that the so > > > called transformation problem has to be solved on the assumption of input > > > prices of production=output prices of production. Of course if this > > > assumption is dropped as it should be for a temporal > > > sequential approach (and why can't an exercise in logic include time > > > subscripts), then there no longer need be a discrepancy between total > > > surplus value and total profit that has to be arbitrarily accounted > > > for by postulating revenue expenditures of exactly the right size. Of > > > course one can say that within a static framework such revenue > > > expenditure could account for the inequality between total surplus > > > value and total profit; that is, this can be offered as an escape > > > hatch if one confines herself for the sake of argument to a static > > > (or more accurately replicating) world in which input prices have to > > > be output prices. >
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