Re Fred's [7274]: > Jerry, I don't see what is so difficult about a brief summary of Marx's > theory of surplus-value. Fred, you didn't ask for a brief summary of Marx's theory of surplus value. You asked instead in [7266] for how I would present a "general theory of profit" to students and/or workers. I interpret a "general theory of profit" to not only deal with the source of profit but also the distribution of profit among capitalists and landowners. > I would say: Profit (or surplus-value) is the excess of money (dM) that > emerges at the end of the circulation of capital. I would say that surplus value only becomes actualized through exchange and can only be converted into profit following sale. > According to Marx's > theory, the magnitude of surplus-value depends on the quantity of surplus > labor, which is the excess of the working day over necessary > labor-time. I would say that what is missing from the above is SNLT. This is crucial for understanding the meaning of labor-time. > Necessary labor-time is the time necessary for workers to > produce a value equivalent to the wages they are paid. It is in this > sense that workers are exploited: they produce more value than they are > paid, and therefore a part of their working day produces surplus-value for > capitalists, for which workers receive no equivalent. It follows from > this theory that there are inherent conflicts in capitalism over the > length of the working day and over the intensity of labor, and that there > is an inherent tendency toward technological change that reduces necessary > labor-time. > Jerry, would you agree or disagree with this brief summary? What of > significance would you say is left out? See above. > However, critics argue that this theory is contradicted by the tendency of > profit rates to equalize across industries. That is why I think a strong > response to this criticism is necessary and worthwhile. Hilferding and Bukharin didn't give "strong responses"? In solidarity, Jerry
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