From: ajit sinha (sinha_a99@YAHOO.COM)
Date: Thu Aug 16 2007 - 07:58:41 EDT
--- Ian Wright <wrighti@ACM.ORG> wrote: > > But Ian, it is well known (at least since Adam > Smith) > > that when the rate of profits is equal to zero, > i.e., > > when all the income goes to labor then prices of > > production are identical with labor values. This > is > > what you get when you put rate of profits equal to > > zero in the dated labor equation. Cheers, ajit > sinha > > Do you know when the standard *formula* for > labour-values was first > presented in the economic literature? _____________________ I don't know what you mean by the standard *formula*. There is no mathematical formula in Adam Smith or Ricardo. Adam Smith's example of beaver and deer exchange in that rude state of civilization is well know. Of course, Malthus did not believe in this proposition--he maintained that value was determined by demand and supply forces and cost of production was subordinate to it in every circumstances. Say also believed that it was demand and utility that regulated value. But both of them are more Smithean in opposition to Ricardo. Ricardo also did not maintain that relative labor content of commodities determined their relative values--this is a general misunderstanding of Ricardo (my own reading of Ricardo's theory which is different from Sraffa's will be presented in my book). Same goes with Marx. Among the early economists it was McCulloch and to some extent James Mill who held, what now a days is known as 'labor theory of value'. Ricardo told McCulloch that he did not agree with such a proposition and interestingly Marx had a poor opinion of McCulloch. So I do not know who people are defending when they are supposedly defending the 'labor theory of value'. Cheers, ajit sinha ____________________________________________________________________________________ Need a vacation? Get great deals to amazing places on Yahoo! Travel. http://travel.yahoo.com/
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