Re: [OPE-L] questions on the interpretation of labour values

From: Allin Cottrell (cottrell@WFU.EDU)
Date: Sat Mar 31 2007 - 20:07:40 EDT 

On Sat, 31 Mar 2007, Rakesh Bhandari wrote:

> Fred wrote:
>
> "Furthermore, Marx emphasis in these pages is that prices of
> production change IF AND ONLY IF the values of commodities
> change, either in final goods industries, or in industries that
> produce means of production. You seem to have in mind a
> situation in which prices of production change from period to
> period, because input prices are not equal to output prices,
> even though the values of commodities remain the same."
>
> Well when does value change if not between the production and
> realization of the inputs and the production and realization of
> the outputs? This is question Guisanni has put forth. I put it
> to Allin. What is the answer?

I suspect (though I do not know) that Fred would agree with the
following answer.  At any rate it's mine, and I take it to be
Marx's:

The value of a commodity changes when and only when there is an
alteration in the labour time that is socially necessary for its
production.

If technology is changing _continuously_ this could indeed occur
"between the production of the inputs and the production of the
outputs", but (to reiterate what I said in an earlier post) it is
a very big stretch to attribute this sort of dynamic analysis to
Marx.

Allin.

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