From: Gerald A. Levy (Gerald_A_Levy@MSN.COM)
Date: Wed Sep 15 2004 - 08:55:51 EDT
Re: [OPE-L] (OPE-L) RE: the intellectual origins of 'sHi Howard: You raise a number of issues in your post but I don't think you addressed the following claim from Chris's book which I took to be the *main* point he was making in the excerpted section. What is the causal mechanism under scp that would *force* producers to exchange their products on the basis of SNLT? Without such a *necessary* mechanism stemming from the inherent nature of scp, why would one anticipate a "law" of value emerging in such a system? In solidarity, Jerry >>>> "In truth, it does not make sense to speak of value, and of exchange governed by a law of labour value, in a pre-capitalist society, because in such an imagined society there could be no mechanism to enforce such a law; price in such a case would simply be a formal mediation, allowing exchange to take place, but without any determinate value substance being present. According to Marx the law of value is based on exchange in accordance with socially necessary labour times, but in the case of simple commodity production there is no mechanism that would *force* a given producer to meet such a target or be driven out of business. When all inputs, including labour-power itself, have both a value form and production is subordinated to valorisation, then an objective comparison of rates of return on capital is possible and competition between capitals allows for the enforcement of the law of value. The point of simple commodity production and exchange is to produce a good in the hope of exchanging it for a different one. While there are constraints, consequent on limit conditions, to such exchanges, there is no possibility of precise determination of the ratios of exchange concerned. Capitalist commodity production is the production of a value in the hope of exchanging it for the purpose of acquiring more value; therefore capital is forced to pay close attention to all the value determinations such as socially necessary labour times. <<<<
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