[OPE-L:4469] Re: Sraffa: a Marxist economist?

Alan Freema (a.freeman@greenwich.ac.uk)
Fri, 21 Mar 1997 00:05:44 -0800 (PST)

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First, I think it is almost beyond dispute that Sraffa was
a great thinker. So I am happy with the word 'Great'.

Was he a Marxist? I think so also. I think so, because he
thought so. Why should I deny anyone the right to call
her or himself a Marxist? It serves no purpose.

Personally, following Marx, I prefer not to call myself a
Marxist but I don't want to deny anyone else the right
to do so.

What worries me is the following logical error:

X is a great Marxist
X is wrong
therefore, Marx is wrong

Therefore I prefer it if the word 'Marxist' is strictly limited to
the following: it defines the general outlook of the person
under discussion. But it tells us nothing about Marx.

That's why I asked my question; was Marx a Sraffian?
>From the statement that Sraffa was a Marxist, we cannot
deduce that Marx was a Sraffian. Once this is acknowledged
then there is no need for any heat.

I think Ajit (and Riccardo) bring great knowledge of Sraffa to this list;
I also think that Sraffa's contribution to Marxist economics
was very significant indeed, so much that I would be happy to use
the word 'Great' to describe it. I think we need to discuss what
Sraffa thought without restrictions and without unnecessary heat.
Necessary heat is a different matter, but first let's assess what
is called for, and what is not. Let us allow Ajit to speak of Sraffa
as he wishes. I think we will learn more in this way.

Alan

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