In partial reply to John's OPE-L:3919:
>...Here let's consider a couple of cases.
>
>a. The net output is positive in money terms, profits negative,
>and the sum of the concrete labor times is positive.
>
>In this case the ratio of net output to concrete labor time is
>positive. One thus has a positive MEV.
This case is not really problematic analytically, though a capitalist
economy couldn't reproduce itself indefinitely under these circumstances.
Ex post in this case the value of labor-power exceeds unity.
>
>
>b. The net output is negative in money terms, profits negative,
>and the sum of concrete labor times is positive.
>
>In this case the ratio of net output to concrete labor time is
>negative. One thus has a negative MEV. Thus for the constant
>capital advanced to be positive in terms of money, one would
>have to assume that the embodied labor time in the constant
>capital is negative.
I'd prefer to regard this as a case where the social productivity of labor
is negative.
Duncan
Duncan K. Foley
Department of Economics
Barnard College
New York, NY 10027
(212)-854-3790
fax: (212)-854-8947
e-mail: dkf2@columbia.edu