Dear Allin:
I would like to agree with your view on the dialogue between Marx and
Aristotole concerning abstract labour. This means that I am on your side on
the issue on pre-capitalist socieies in your letter to Dancun. However, we
can see that capitalis economy enforces the more strict economy of
labour-time through the economy of costs of production, as Dancun suggests.
Upon such general areement, I would raise two related issues, as I stressed
in my book, The Basic Theory of Capitalism (1988, Barnes & Noble, and
Macmillan).
1) Marx's dialogue with Aristotole also left us another question if the
forms of value to generate money-form or prices cannot be formed without
the concept of the substance of value,ie. embodied abstract-labour.
2) If the polymorphous quality of human labour-power is the real
foundation of the abstruct labour in all the forms of societies, then can
we not see the same ground for homogenious equality of expended labour-time
regardless of educational or training costs of skill which differentiate
the values of labour-power for complex labour-power in a (capitalist)
market economy? The traditionally separate problems on the abstract vs
concrete useful labour on the one hand, and complex vs simple labour may
thus be solved from the same deeper recognition of fundamentally equal
quality of human labour-power. In my view, this should be a logical ground
for Marxian eglitarianism beyond the formal market order.
These points are not within mere interpretation of Marx's texts, but are
hopefully in accord with Marx's spirit of thinking. How do you feel? I hope
that you can read my book. Or did you read it?
All the best,
Makoto