Dear Chai-on,
Seems to me that we follow your suggestion below, we may end up
with 3 rates of profit even before we get to prices of production.
1. The usual "competitive" rate which you suggest new capitalist
use prior to entering an industry.
2. The "TSS" rate of profit which you refer to as Andrew's.
3. A rate which uses the new output values computed in the
"TSS" as the input values for the current period.
No matter which of the three we use it is clear that the fall in social
value to the level of individual brought about by competition now
plays a dominant role in the analysis. Competition, in other words,
brings about the law of value. For Marx, it seems to me the causality
is reversed. That is, it is the accumulation process itself that
brings about the falling rate of profit which turns capitalists into a
"band of hostile brothers." The task then would be to understand
the problematic nature of the accumlation process without reference
to what seems nothing more than a neoclassical theory of competition.
As you say, Chai-on, what do you think?
Regards,
John
On Mon, 25 Mar 1996 conlee@chonnam.chonnam.ac.kr (chaion lee) said:
>Dear Andrew,
>Perhaps we should have two kinds of the profit rate conception. By
>definition,
>of course, the rate of profit may well be a ratio between the new value
>increment and the original (old) value as it is to be estimated over a
certain
>period.
>An interest rate, too, is not to be calculated on the two terms of the
same
>points of time.
>However, when we think of the competitive capitalists, they have to
compute the
>
>profit rate, if he/she intends to enter a new branch of production, by
>reference to the present (new) input and output values. So, Marx's equal
rates
>of profit
>are to be calculated on the (new) input values if it is related to the
>capitalist competition. So, I think there are two kinds of profit rates.
One
>is actual, customary profit rate, the other is an economic
>(competition-inspired) profit
>rate. How do you think?
>With regards
>Chai-on
>