From: Rakesh Bhandari (bhandari@BERKELEY.EDU)
Date: Sun Oct 28 2007 - 00:46:16 EDT
Fred you write: "I agree that TSSI initially claimed to “refute the Okishio theorem on its own terms” (i.e. not that Okishio’s “terms” were different from Marx’s “terms”). But in Kliman’s book (Chapter 7), the main argument is that the rate of profit in the Okishio theorem is determined in a different way from the rate of profit in Marx’s theory. There is one paragraph that argues that the Okishio theorem “also fails on its own terms”, but this claim is emphasized much less than before. What I think is the contribution of the TSSI is the argument that the Okishio theorem is based on a different theory of the rate of profit than Marx’s theory." But TSSI a refutation on Okishio Theorem on its own terms--for all practical purposes. Okishio Theorem is according to standard interpretation an impossibility theorem--it's impossible for viable technical change in itself to depress the profit rate. TSSI did the impossible; it showed that viable techical change can depress the profit rate. But...TSSI has not demonstrated that empirically David Laibman's tracking theorem (the money rate of profit tracks the material rate of profit) will not hold in the long term. But TSSI did the impossible, and I can understand why they are so damn excited about it. Doing the impossible is a large part of what intellectual progress is, no? Rakesh
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