Andrew here, replying to Paul Cockshott's post (which I lost along with my
original reply) on why I impute a position to Stalin based on an unsigned
1943 (Paul writes "1944", but the article appeared in Russia in 1943)
article, instead of lokking at Stalin's 1952 book, which Paul maintains is
closer to my own view.
Response: I don't think it is appropriate to "choose." Stalin's positions
were mediated by political considerations, ever-changing. Unless one doubts
that the 1943 revision in the law of value (which doubtlessly was not actually
written by Stalin himself) was Stalin's position at the time--which I do not
find credible--the 1952 book cannot be taken as "the" Stalinist position.