[OPEL:6181] Re: Zinn

jurriaan bendien (Jbendien@globalxs.nl)
Thu, 12 Feb 1998 11:46:46 +0100

Dear Alejandro

I am sorry but I cannot help you out here - never heard of Zinn.

Regards

Jurriaan

----------
> From: aramos@aramos.bo
> To: ope-l@galaxy.csuchico.edu
> Cc: Multiple recipients of list <ope-l@galaxy.csuchico.edu>
> Subject: Zinn
> Date: Wednesday, February 11, 1998 7:22 PM
>
> Does someone have some information about a Marxist (German?) economist
> named K. G. Zinn?
>
> I came accross an interesting passage in the Spanish version of Karl
> Kuehne''s book "Economics and Marxism". (The passage is not in the
> English version.)
>
> Kuehne writes:
>
> "We have already said that the analysis of economic growth cannot
> be carried out by means of the value calculation [i.e. social labor-
> time calculation]. In order to understand growth in these terms, we
> should "correct" [Marx''s] concept of value. Recently, this approach
> has been held also by important Marxist economists as Lange in Poland,
> and Banfi in Italy.
>
> "However, it is worth to mention a recent study by Zinn, who defends
> the opposite conception. According to Zinn, in a growing economy,
> outputs are normally greater than inputs, i.e. production is greater
> than costs. This fact could be understood only by means of the labor-
> value theory. Production and costs could be reckoned only in three
> ways: a) physical calculation, rejected by Zinn because goods are
> heterogeneous; b) monetary calculation, also invalidated by
> inflationary processes and c) labor-time calculation."
>
> [My free "translation" from the Spanish version, Economia y Marxismo,
> Vol 3, p. 27, Barcelona, 1979; German original published in 1973.]
>
> It is interesting to note that the now fashionable idea that Marx''s
> value theory has not dynamic meaning, was already "floating" in the
> late 60s. Banfi''s article mentioned by Kuehne was published in
> German! in 1967.
>
> In the English version of Kuehne''s book (which Alejandro Valle-Baeza
> recently sent me; thanks Alejandro!), the author refers to 3 works by
> Zinn:
>
> 1. Zinn K.G. [1970], Konsum und Krise bei Marx, Jahrbuch fuer
> Sozialwissenschaft, XXI, No 3.
>
> 2. Zinn K.G. [1972], Arbeitswerttheorie, Berlin.
>
> 3. Zinn K.G. and Rehberg, K.S. [1977], Marx''s Theory of Value as a
> Basic Concept of Interdependence Structures of Distribution in
> Capitalist Societes (English title), Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloeko-
> nomie und Statistik, CXCI (sic), No, 5-6.
>
> Has someone ever heard about these works? Maybe Juriaan, who is in
> the German area.
>
>
> Alejandro Ramos