Paul, It is undeniable that Marx assumed prices = values from Ch. 6 throughout most (but not all) of Vol. I. What was at issue was whether he assumed compositions of capital were equal, which is a different claim, and one for which I've never seen evidence. Also, that he assumed prices = values does not imply that his results all depend on that assumption, or that his definitions are applicable only when that assumption holds. Andrew ----- Original Message ----- From: Paul Zarembka <zarembka@acsu.buffalo.edu> To: <ope-l@galaxy.csuchico.edu> Sent: Thursday, October 26, 2000 8:41 PM Subject: [OPE-L:4310] Price-Value Equivalence! [was "Logic and illogic in defending Marx"] : Rakesh, Several months ago, replying to Andrew, I posted [3738] a number : of quotations from Volume 1 showing that Marx knew exactly what he was : assuming for his Volume 1 discussion, i.e, all industries operate at your : average (the standard deviation of compositions of capital is zero)! : : "The calculations given in the text are intended merely as : illustrations. We have in fact. assumed that prices = values. We shall, : however, see, in Book Ill., that even in the case of average prices the : assumption cannot be made in this very simple manner." (Chapter 9, fn. at : end of Section 1) : : "our assumption, that all commodities, including labour-power, are : bought and sold at their full value" (Chapter 12, third paragraph) : : "I assume (1) that commodities are sold at their value; (2) that the : price of labour-power rises occasionally above its value, but never sinks : below it." (Chapter 17, second paragraph) : : "On the one hand, then, we assume that the capitalist sells at their : value the commodities he has produced, without concerning ourselves either : about the new forms that capital assumes while in the sphere of : circulation, or about the concrete conditions of reproduction hidden under : these forms." (Part VII, The Accumulation of Capital, fourth paragraph) : : Paul Z. : : *********************************************************************** : Paul Zarembka, editor, RESEARCH IN POLITICAL ECONOMY at : ******************** http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/PZarembka : : : Rakesh Narpat Bhandari <rakeshb@Stanford.EDU> said, on 10/25/00: : : >So if in vol 1, Marx equates the surplus value produced by a firm with : >the profit it appropriates, he obviously has in mind "an average : >industry" which Meek claims is similar to Sraffa's basic industry. It is : >obvious that Marx knew perfectly well in vol 1 that commodities do not : >exchange at value. :
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Tue Oct 31 2000 - 00:00:12 EST