From: Fred Moseley (fmoseley@MTHOLYOKE.EDU)
Date: Sat Sep 08 2007 - 11:06:22 EDT
I think that Jerry's "call for consensus" on the dogmatism of the TSSI is way too one-sided, as Riccardo and Anders have already pointed out. The proponents of the TSSI do seem to think that they have the only correct interpretation of Marx's theory, and they certainly act dogmatically at times. However, I nonetheless think that the TSSI has advanced the general understanding of Marx's theory in several important ways: 1. Mainly the critique of the prevailing Sraffian simultaneous determination interpretation of Marx's theory (Anders also emphasizes this point). Even if the TSSI turns out to be wrong on this issue (and I think they are right), they will have contributed to the development of Marxian theory by forcing a thorough consideration of this fundamental issue, which probably would not have happened without the TSSI. 2. Similarly, they have forced a more thorough consideration of the related issue of the current cost vs. historical cost valuation of constant capital. 3. Their work has also contributed to a better understanding of the Okishio Theorem, and its specific assumptions (including simultaneous determination), and of Marx's theory of the falling rate of profit in general. 4. In general, the TSSI has advocated closer attention to Marx's texts, and has attempted to interpret Marx's theory as a logically consistent whole. I wish they weren’t so dogmatic about their interpretation, but I think they have advanced the general level of understanding of Marx’s texts. I don't agree with all their interpretations (and I especially don't agree with Kliman's multi-period interpretation of the transformation problem), but surely these have been valuable contributions, which will likely lead to further advances in the future. So I think a more balanced evaluation of the TSSI would be more appropriate. Comradely, Fred ---------------------------------------------------------------- This message was sent using IMP, the Internet Messaging Program.
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