Re: [OPE-L] basics vs. non-basics

From: Paul Cockshott (wpc@DCS.GLA.AC.UK)
Date: Wed Sep 28 2005 - 04:39:56 EDT


Philip Dunn wrote:
> Hi Paul
>
> Quoting Paul Cockshott <wpc@DCS.GLA.AC.UK>:
>
>
>>Surely for this you need to first express things
>>in material terms.
>>Let us take a 2 industry example with negative net product
>>Assume we have units in tons of material and person years
>>
>>INPUTS                  OUTPUTS
>>Corn    Iron     Labour
>>100     10       20       90
>>10      10       5        20
>>-----------------------
>>110     20       25
>>
>>In this case we have a negative net output of corn of -20
>>and no net output of iron. This would imply that 25
>>person years were embodied in
>>-20 tons of , so the net new value added per ton of
>>corn must be -1.25 person years per ton
>>so at very least value must be negative
>>
>>Solving the full value equations
>>90corn == 100corn + 10iron + 20,
>> 20iron == 10corn + 10iron + 5
>>.
>>iron -> -(3/4), corn -> -(5/4)
>>
>>This implies that with a negative net product in the
>>basic sector values in that sector must be negative.
>>This merely expresses the fact that under these
>>circumstances labour is socially unnecessary,
>>and is indeed deleterious.
>>
>
>
> That is physical, simultaneous, deterministic value theory.

Yes it is. So what.

> There is no role
> for money.

Introducing money further complicates things considerably,
though it obviously makes things more realistic.
Money implies the state and taxation, and a mechanism by
which the value of money is fixed. Sraffa and Marx attempt
to get round this by assuming that money is a commodity - do you assume this?

> Ex-post value accounting allows unit values of inputs and outputs
> to be different and allows the value of money to change. It also requires
> stocks to be taken into account even in simple circulating capital cases.
>
> Phil
Ok then Phil, construct an example using the same basic
sector but with a gold sector for the money and then let
us see how you would work out the values using your
system of accounting.

--
Paul Cockshott
Dept Computing Science
University of Glasgow



0141 330 3125


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