We now have 43 subscribers.
So far, 23 subscribers have written posts this month, which began with
OPE-L #3195.
I. TOPICS DISCUSSED THIS MONTH
---------------------------
A. The threads discussed at *greatest* length (over 20 posts) were:
o OKISHIO THEOREM [continued from August-September, related to
discussions on FRP and TSS from previous months; includes
"Value added, IVA and TSS"; "Zero rate of profit"; "Contradiction
between value and use-value"; "Technical change and low rates of
profit", etc.] (-64- posts);
o ACCUMULATION OF CAPITAL REVISITED [continued from previous months,
especially related to and includes ASSUMPTIONS thread; arose this
month out of "Forms of technical change"; also related to Okishio
thread; includes "slave labour conditions", "zero wages", "zero
repression costs"] (-53- posts);
o FORMS OF TECHNICAL CHANGE [continued from previous months; related
to Okishio thread; includes "TSS and technical change"] (-41-
posts);
o MARXIAN EMPIRICAL RESEARCH/SKILLED LABOR [continued from previous
months; includes "Hilferding and skill"; "Maniatis"; "Marxian
empirical research topics"] (-39- posts);
o PRODUCTIVE AND UNPRODUCTIVE LABOUR [related, only in part, to
"accumulation of capital/assumptions" thread] (-33- posts);
o VALUE OF MONEY [arose out of Okishio thread; related in part to
valuation of c; includes "monetary expression of value"] (-23-
posts).
B. Other threads that we discussed *at length* (10-19 posts) included:
o ACCUMULATION: DISEQUILIBRIUM DYNAMICS (16);
o EQUAL PROFIT RATES [arose out of Okishio thread on 9/30] (14);
o LABOUR-POWER SHORTAGES [arose out of "Orthodoxy" thread] (13);
o MARX AND HISTORICAL COSTS [arose out of Okishio and TSS threads;
related to discussions from previous months on the evaluation of c
and FRP; includes "monetary expression of value"] (14).
C. *Other topics discussed* included (in order of posts/thread):
o ABSOLUTE SURPLUS VALUE [related to TSS and simultaneous
interpretations] (6);
o ORTHODOXY [continued from September] (5);
o ONE-SECTOR MODELS [arose out of Okishio thread; includes
"multi-sector models"] (5);
o STOCK VALUATION [arose out of "Value of Money" thread; related to
Okishio, TSS, and moral depreciation threads; includes "technical
change and the conservation of value?"; see, especially, Alan's
#3459 (which was an answer to Andrew K's #3412) and Andrew K's
answer in #3478] (5);
o ACCUMULATION SUGGESTION (4);
o HOPE FOR AND AGAINST MARX AND MARXIST ECONOMICS [concerns _journal_
_History of Political Economy_ (HOPE); see Andrew K's #3503] (4);
o SIMULTANEOUS DETERMINATION AND VALUE ADDED [arose out of "Marx and
historical costs" thread; related to valuation of c, etc.] (4);
o REPRESSION COSTS/CAUSES OF TECHNICAL CHANGE [arose out of
"productive and unproductive labour" thread];
o MARX'S ARCHIOTRONICS AND METHOD [arose out of Okishio thread];
o PATRIARCHAL AND BOURGEOIS FAMILIES [arose out of "labour-power
shortages" thread];
o VICKEREY'S DEATH [see Duncan's #3404];
o PROBLEMS IN TSS [see John's #3539].
II. PROCEDURAL DISCUSSIONS
----------------------
A. There was a short discussion on the list policy concerning the
archives which began with Simon's #3263 "ethics" post asking if
others objected to him showing posts re Okishio, TSS, IVA etc. to a
PhD student of his. All those who responded on-list said that was
OK, but there was no discussion following my suggestion in #3265
that the archives be opened. Consequently, the archives are and
will remain closed indefinitely.
B. There was a discussion on "etiquette" that arose in response to
comments made on the "accumulation of capital revisited" and
"assumptions ..." threads. See Alan's #3431, Jerry's #3434,
Steve K's #3440, and Allin's #3449. No decisions were made.
---------------------------
OVERALL, October was a *very intense* month. Volume was particularly
intense during the first half of October (246 posts were written from 10/1
thru 10/15). The posts per month increased sharply (in September there
were 256 posts), but ironically the participation dropped (in September,
26 subscribers wrote posts). To observe the fluctuations in posting this
month, consider:
Week Posts Participation
---- ----- -------------
1-7 121 15
8-14 96 14
15-21 87 13
22-28 48 14
[For purposes of comparison, the weekly participation rate during
September varied from 13 to 18].
As we begin November, I -- once again -- ask that you propose new topics
for discussion and see (perhaps) if we can come to some sort of agreement
on outstanding and long-discussed topics.
Happy Halloween!
In Solidarity,
Jerry