Re: [OPE-L] Incoherence of the TSSI - consensus?

From: Simon Mohun (s.mohun@QMUL.AC.UK)
Date: Sat Oct 20 2007 - 10:13:42 EDT


Hi Anders

Anders Ekeland wrote:
> Dear Jerry,
>
> I am again surprised over your eagerness to "take a vote" on the
> TSSI. I am not quite sure if I am "outside of the proponents of the
> TSSI" or inside. But I have discussed a lot of issues with Alan
> Freeman - and to a lesser extent Andrew Kliman. We have disagreements
> on both economic and political issues, but I think that they are no
> worse than most others in their reporting of the views of those with
> whom they disagree, and certainly not worse than Veneziani and
> Mongiovi, which to me are not willing to accept the very limited
> claims of the "reclaiming Marx" exercise.

Not Gary Mongiovi, but Simon Mohun.

And you are not quite right - it is because Roberto and I do not find
the "reclaiming Marx" exercise convincing that we are not willing to
accept what you call its "very limited claims".

> The limits to the TSSI, i.e. that it is not a real positive theory,
> i.e. a model that shows how capitalism works, are not recognized,
> because the Sraffa model is of course even more totally unreal
> (nothing changes).

The TSSI has nothing to say about how capitalism actually works - that
is not its avowed purpose. [Since most of my own work is about how
capitalism actually works, engaging with the TSSI is singularly
frustrating.]

> As I have said before it is an open question to me if one can make an
> static equilibrium model of capitalism that is interesting.

You can find my own approach in

"A Re(in)statement of the Labour Theory of Value". Cambridge Journal of
Economics 18(4), 1994: 391-412

"Does All Labour Create Value?", pp. 42-58 in A. Saad-Filho (ed.),
Anti-Capitalism: a Marxist Introduction. London: Pluto Press, 2003

"On Measuring the Wealth of Nations: the U.S. Economy, 1964-2001".
Cambridge Journal of Economics 29(5), 2005: 799-815

"Distributive Shares in the U.S. Economy, 1964-2001". Cambridge Journal
of Economics 30(3), 2006: 347-70

Regards,

Simon


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