From: Paul Cockshott (wpc@DCS.GLA.AC.UK)
Date: Wed Feb 04 2004 - 11:23:40 EST
Cyrus: In capitalist mode of production proper (CMP), given the frequent transfering of value among the existing sectors of the economy (i.e., formation of prices of production in conjunction with uniform rates of profit), one would not know in advance how much value (and thus surplus value) will be transferred from one sector to another, and which sector(s) will be exactly the receivers and which sector(s) the producers of such values. ----------------------------- This seems to be more an ideal type of a capitalist mode of production than a real system. ------------------------------ Moreover, the notion of 'average' sector is an ideal one. We do know, however, that those sectors with the larger (than 'average') 'capital' advanced are in the receiving end of such 'value transfers'. ---------------------------- There is some evidence for this, but there is also evidence for a negative correlation between sectoral organic compositions and sectoral profit rates. This undermines your next sentence: ----------------------------- Thus, both theoretically and empirically, speaking of the rate of surplus value at the levels of the firm and industry does not make any sense. The question, therefore, is not whether the 'relationship' [i.e., statistically] between value and prices is 'weak' or 'strong,' but whether it is conceptually relevant. ------------------------------ If prices are as closely correlated to values as they are to prices of production, then a higher than average profit to wage ratio in a sector may be explained as the sum of two factors 1. A contribution due to higher exploitation in that sector 2. A contribution due to sales of the product at a price above its value. It is relatively easy, using i/o tables, to separate out these two factors.
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