From: Rakesh Bhandari (bhandari@BERKELEY.EDU)
Date: Wed Jul 04 2007 - 13:29:24 EDT
There is very much of interest in this issue. For this list, perhaps Harman's excellent analysis of the profit rate and Choonara's review of Kliman's book will prove most helpful, though I really enjoyed the historical material--the interview with Blackburn and Harman's review of the Mielart book on merchant capital. Choonara writes: "Kliman argues for a single-system interpretation. Such interpretations also emerged in the 1980s. They offer an alternative solution to the problems posed by Marx's shift from value to price in Capital. The inputs into production (wages, raw materials, machinery, and so on) are always values, rather than prices. But they are not the values required to produce these things, they are the values the capitalist must advance to purchase them. And, "to acquire the needed means of productionŠthe firm needs to buy them at their actual price-not at their value" (p34). So the value advanced to purchase an input is its "price of production". Kliman provides textual evidence to show that this is a possible interpretation of Marx's writings. However, the evidence is hardly decisive either way. Kliman's case rests heavily on whether his interpretation allows a consistent account of Capital." Kliman merely establishes the difference between the value of the consumed means of production themselves and the value required to purchase them at current prices. But that is not in question, on the contrary. Allin and I insist on it. He does not in fact make a textual or theoretical argument that what is transferred to the produced commodities is the value required to purchase the used up means of production at current prices. He does not show how such an interpretation could be squared with Marx's talk of double divergence. In other words, he pays no attention to the OPE-L controversy. Which makes some sense of his departure from this list. I think the argument for a single system must have another foundation, viz that value only exists in and through its price expression. Kliman expicitly rejects this kind of analysis in his critical section on the value form, neglecting to cite any of the textual evidence in support of it. At the same time I think Kliman could reasonably argue as has Fred that Marx made inconsistent statements (as was bound to happen in such an ambitious work) and that his interpretation is the best possible reconstruction. It will be obvious why he cannot proceed this way. Rakesh >X-Sieve: CMU Sieve 2.3 >From: "Chris Harman" <chrisharman@blueyonder.co.uk> >To: "Bob Brenner" <rbrenner@ucla.edu> >Subject: Now Out ISJ 115 >Date: Tue, 3 Jul 2007 10:18:01 +0100 >X-Priority: 3 >X-Ucb-Scan-Signature: d1462e93ee02f30c2cd9d3c3c76374473da72578 >X-Ucb-Spam: Gauge=IIIIIII, Probability=7%, Report='HTML_MESSAGE 0.001' >X-Ucb-Notice: This message has been processed by a spam tagging system. > See http://mailinfo.berkeley.edu/ for more information. > >Now out ISJ 115 > >A quarterly journal of revolutionary Socialism > >Analysis > ><http://www.isj.org.uk/index.php4?id=329&issue=115tain after Blair > ><http://www.isj.org.uk/index.php4?id=330&issue=115kozy: >the French Thatcher? > ><http://www.isj.org.uk/index.php4?id=331&issue=115ece: >waves from the student struggle > >Nikos Loudos > ><http://www.isj.org.uk/index.php4?id=332&issue=115in >Blackburn interview: What really ended slavery? > ><http://www.isj.org.uk/index.php4?id=333&issue=115digram >and the deformations of the Indian left > >Aditya Sarkar > >Gordon Brown > ><http://www.isj.org.uk/index.php4?id=334&issue=115wn's >Journey from Reformism to Neoliberalism > >John Newsinger > ><http://www.isj.org.uk/index.php4?id=335&issue=115 >Labour's economic "record" > >Chris Harman > ><http://www.isj.org.uk/index.php4?id=336&issue=115é >Carlos Mariátegui: Latin America’s forgotten >Marxist > >Mike Gonzalez > ><http://www.isj.org.uk/index.php4?id=337&issue=115 >an impasse? Anti-capitalism and the social >forums today > >Alex Callinicos and Chris Nineham > ><http://www.isj.org.uk/index.php4?id=338&issue=115nce at the crossroads > >Antoine Boulangé and Jim Wolfreys > ><http://www.isj.org.uk/index.php4?id=339&issue=115 >Moody interview: The superpower’s shopfloor > ><http://www.isj.org.uk/index.php4?id=340&issue=115 >rate of profit and the world today > >Chris Harman > ><http://www.isj.org.uk/index.php4?id=341&issue=115>revolution in paint: 100 years of Picasso’s >Demoiselles > >John Molyneux > ><http://www.isj.org.uk/index.php4?id=342&issue=115 >literature of a ravished continent: Achebe, >Sembène and Ngugi > >Ken Olende > >Book reviews > ><http://www.isj.org.uk/index.php4?id=343&issue=115bs and snappers > >Andy Jones > ><http://www.isj.org.uk/index.php4?id=344&issue=115 >abstract view of the past > >Matt Perry > ><http://www.isj.org.uk/index.php4?id=345&issue=115lin’s Irish victims > >Paul O’Brien > ><http://www.isj.org.uk/index.php4?id=346&issue=115 making of an agitator > >Chris Bambery > ><http://www.isj.org.uk/index.php4?id=347&issue=115 >Left Review: The search for theory > >Ian Birchall > ><http://www.isj.org.uk/index.php4?id=348&issue=115 >merchant and the Middle Ages > >Chris Harman > ><http://www.isj.org.uk/index.php4?id=349&issue=115fessor >Jekyll and Comrade Hyde > >Viren Swami > ><http://www.isj.org.uk/index.php4?id=350&issue=115sian proletariat > >Naz Massoumi > ><http://www.isj.org.uk/index.php4?id=351&issue=115andbook for activism > >Katherine Connelly > ><http://www.isj.org.uk/index.php4?id=352&issue=115amping old formulas > >Iain Ferguson > ><http://www.isj.org.uk/index.php4?id=353&issue=115x's >"transformation" made easy > >Joseph Choonara > ><http://www.isj.org.uk/index.php4?id=354&issue=115k of the quarter > > > >New Resources on this website: > > > > > ><http://www.isj.org.uk/index.php4?id=328>Orlando >Chirino interviewed on Chavez, trade unions and >socialism in Venezuela. > ><http://www.isj.org.uk/docs/CFRbook.pdf>New book on Thailand’s coup > ><http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/articles.php?artno=1929>Analysis >of the political divisions in Venezuela > ><http://www.counterpunch.org/navarro11212006.html>The >mass movement in Oaxaca Mexico > ><http://www.isj.org.uk/?id=235>Bolivia’s government shifts to right > ><http://www.socialistreview.org.uk/article.php?articlenumber=9579>The >myth of Muslim Self-Segregation (Hassan >Mahamdallie from SR Nov 2005) > ><http://pubs.socialistreviewindex.org.uk/isj95/mahamdallie.htm>Racism >and Islamophobia in Britain (Hassan Mahamdallie >from ISJ 95) > ><http://www.isj.org.uk/?id=241>Alex Callinicos >interviewed on the left, imperialism and >resistance in the Middle East > ><http://www.isj.org.uk/?id=232>Ilan Pappe on Zionism and the settler state > ><http://www.isj.org.uk/?s=resources#koreadebate>Debates >within South Korean Marxism > >From our archives > ><http://www.isj.org.uk/index.php4?id=310>The >roots of gay oppression (Norah Carlin 1989) > ><http://www.isj.org.uk/?id=295>The ‘workers’ government (Chris Harman 1977) > ><http://www.isj.org.uk/?id=294>A critique of >Nicos Poulantzas (Colin Barker 1979) > ><http://www.isj.org.uk/?id=240>Theories of Patriarchy (Lindsey German 1981) > ><http://www.isj.org.uk/?id=237>Mike Kidron on Marxist political economy (1974) > ><http://www.isj.org.uk/?id=234>The State and Capital (Chris Harman 1991) > ><http://www.isj.org.uk/?id=239>Gramsci versus >Eurocommunism (Chris Harman 1977) > ><http://www.isj.org.uk/?s=resources#classarticles>The >changing working class (Alex Callinicos and >Chris Harman) > >Audio > ><http://www.isj.org.uk/?s=resources#mandelvskidron>The >1969 debate on state capitalism and revolution >between Ernest Mandel and Mike Kidron > >Translations > ><http://www.isj.org.uk/?s=translations#frenchtranslations>New >translations in French > >Other resources: > >WWW.ISJ.ORG.UK > > > > > > > >All articles copyright © International Socialism unless otherwise stated
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