[OPE-L:4024] Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: m in Marxs theory

From: Rakesh Narpat Bhandari (rakeshb@Stanford.EDU)
Date: Mon Oct 09 2000 - 03:25:03 EDT


In 4009, Ajit wrote:

>  My sense is that
>Marx thought that properties derived from the reproduction schemas will not be
>affected even if the exchange ratios where different from the value ratios,

Marx may have been wrong.  The reproduction schema may not be immune 
to Rosa Luxemburg's criticism unless we allow for the possibility of 
exchange at prod prices, instead of values. In my reply to Paul Z, I 
noted that Grossmann and Mattick Sr had made this point and that both 
thought that Bauer's reply  which continued to assume exchange at 
value was not persuasive.


>
>
>I would say, you are right. There should be a price-value deviation 
>for the money
>or the gold commodity too. But if you recall Bortkiewicz-Seton types 
>formulations,
>they construct their simultaneous equations in terms of labor values 
>and attach the
>unknown deviation factors x, y, z, etc. to them, where there are n numbers of
>x,y,z, etc. and n+1 unknowns; n numbers of x,y,z... and one general 
>rate of profit.
>So if we solve the system by putting say x = 1, then that implies that the
>commodity associated with x, say gold commodity, has no value price 
>deviation. But
>this, of course, is an arbitrary decree. So i agree with what you say above.

Having put gold into the "transformed" schema (they are not Marx's) 
reveals how little these theorists understood Marx even if they could 
handle homogeneous linear equations and matrix algebra in the 
delusive seach of a determinate solution to relative prices. If gold 
is put into transformation schema, then its value and price should be 
expected to change interperiodically, thereby destroying its function 
as a theoretical reference point in Marx's system. The monetary 
expression of labor time, m, and the value of money are all given and 
fixed throughout the three volumes of Capital. No theoretical 
investigation  of the effects of changing labor productivity on the 
value magnitudes is possible without such a theoretical reference 
point. Money is kept not only outside the transformation exercise, it 
is kept outside of time altogether.

All the best, rakesh



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