Hi Paul, This is a sensible supposition--"that the use value(s) yielded by a commodity are usually inseparable from the material shape of the commodity itself, so that changes in value and use value normally occur together"--which helps explain why the analysis of machinery in production has been so confusing. Returning to Andrew's observation which began this discussion, the depreciation of the machine and its contribution to production are two different things--the former being its exchange-value (on which depreciation is calculated, as Marx noted), the latter being its use-value. But both expire at the same time, and it's practically impossible to affect one without affecting the other, so it's been very easy for analysts of all persuasions to regard the two aspects as simply one. Cheers, Steve At 12:32 16/10/00 -0500, you wrote: >In terms of the Levy-Perelman discussion, if the job done by the >two commodities is exactly the same (e.g., simply counting things up >or doing the exact same calculation when comparing a slide rule to a >calculator), then it is clearly the unit value (value per unit of use >value) that has changed. My guess is though, that that there are a >lot more examples where the character of the use value changes along >with changes in the value of the commodity that provides that use >value. For example, a calculator can do things that you just can't >do with a slide rule. But then there are other examples where a >commodity crowds out other competing commodities because it has a >lower value, even if the use value(s) it produces is/are in some ways >inferior to the one(s) it replaces. > >In general I would think that the use value(s) yielded by a commodity >are usually inseparable from the material shape of the commodity >itself, so that changes in value and use value normally occur >together. This is perhaps most clear in the case of services but I >would need to think about this more. How would the connection >between value and use value differ if at all for services compared to >material goods? Cheers, Paul Burkett > > Dr. Steve Keen Senior Lecturer Economics & Finance University of Western Sydney Macarthur Building 11 Room 30, Goldsmith Avenue, Campbelltown PO Box 555 Campbelltown NSW 2560 Australia s.keen@uws.edu.au 61 2 4620-3016 Fax 61 2 4626-6683 Home 02 9558-8018 Mobile 0409 716 088 Home Page: http://bus.macarthur.uws.edu.au/steve-keen/
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