[OPE-L:7081] Re: a value theory of exchange rates?

From: gerald_a_levy (gerald_a_levy@msn.com)
Date: Sun Apr 28 2002 - 10:16:58 EDT


Re Diego's [7079]:

To begin with, thanks for the additional references. I've
asked Anwar if there are still other references by him or
others that have a bearing on this issue. 

> Jerry says: <<Doesn't an understanding of how exchange rates are 
determined in contemporary capitalism require that we comprehend
the role of the state, central banks,  international agreements among 
states, etc.?>>
Of course, but think of Argentina case. Almost everybody in this country had the "illusion" for years that its exchange rate was 1 peso:1 dollar. It was not, at least according to its fundamental determinates. This tells us much about the limits the States encounter whenever they try to detour the consequences of the law of value.<

These 'limits', though, could be suspended or modified for long
historical periods.  It seems to me, for instance, that the 'seigniorage'
attached to the US dollar following the Bretton Woods agreement  
is not a consequence of the law of value  alone but of  agreements 
by  leading capitalist nation states. Indeed,   the advantages of 
seigniorage are more closely related to the subject  of  *rent* than of 
the law of value.   I think this subject is related to how the US 
economy can grow even when there is a worldwide economic crisis.

In solidarity, Jerry



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