[OPE-L:732] Re: Land Prices, Labor and Commodities

Gilbert Skillman (gskillman@mail.wesleyan.edu)
Wed, 13 Dec 1995 18:38:17 -0800

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> Following up John Ernst's comments on the LTV and unimproved land:
>
> Marx deals with the latter in Volume III, under the heading of absolute
> rent. And, he places (theoretical) limits on the range of possible market
> prices associated with absolute rent.

And to follow up my comments on LTV and unimproved land, it's
irrelevant to the present discussion where or whether Marx deals with
absolute rent. The point is that nothing in the logical structure of
his argument from the fact of exchange requires that all
exchangeables must be products of labor. Thus, if items such as
unimproved land are ruled out, they are ruled out by fiat. In other
words, Marx's argument about the basis of value assumes its conclusion.

Gil Skillman