TEST OF THE VALIDITY OF THE LTV.
I would like to emphasize again that I do not consider these logical
arguments in Chapter 1 to be the main test of the validity of Marx's LTV. I
consider these arguments as plausible reasons to base one's theory of
captalism on the LTV, not as attempts to prove that the LTV is the only
possible basis of a theory of capitalism. The main test of the validity of
the LTV is its empirical explanatory power, relative to competing theories
of capitalism. As Marx said: "Even if there were no chapter on 'value' in
my book, the analysis of the real relations which I give would contain the
proof and demonstration of the real value relations." (SC. 196) Others may
not find the arguments in Chapter 1 plausible and may choose instead to base
their theories of capitalism on something other than the LTV, e.g. Gil's
game theory. I say: fine, go ahead, more power to you. Eventually the
relative validity of these competing theories should be evaluated on the
basis of their relative explanatory power.