[OPE-L:8285] Re: philosophy and political economy and time

From: Paul Cockshott (paul@cockshott.com)
Date: Mon Jan 06 2003 - 16:26:01 EST 

Christopher Arthur wrote:

> Re Michael's 8081 of Cologne 28-Nov-2002
> A long delayed reply on time. Of course when I say time is money I do not
> mean the dimension is time, what I mean is that the amount is a function of
> the time capital is tied up for. As far as I can see you think the deltaM
> is a contingent amount predicated on some Hayekian like creation out of
> market imbalence. But I would like to support a version of LTV as follows:
> Kapital situates production within the time of it own circuit of movement.
> This means that if the GRP functions as any kind of regulator of the
> strivings of individual capitals then there must be a form determining of
> the money measure such that in the first instance (there are many other
> instances, ioncluding contingencies) it is necessary according to the
> Concept of capital that each K is rewarded in proportion to the time for
> which it is tied up producing commodities, and in effect suffering a kind
> of freeze in its movement compared with an ideal K that produces
> instantaneously. The only way to for this to be acheived is to set the
> reward of the ideal K at zero and set a new value proportional to each LT
> such that every K valorises at the same rate.
> I am not saying SNLT is some originary principle but that the form of
> self-valorisation grounds itself in the exploitation of labour and it
> measures this ground according to its own form, i.e. not energy, not toil
> and trouble, not pleasant/unpleasant, or any other subjective perception of
> laborers, but objective time alone because for K time is money whereas for
> the peasant 'time costs nothing'.

This version has little to do with labour, since time passes independently of
the expenditure of labour. Money in a bank account grows over time,
wine laid up in a vault rises over time. These, however are illusions
generated by the existence of interest.

This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Wed Jan 08 2003 - 00:00:00 EST