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From: owner-ope-l@galaxy.csuchico.edu on behalf of Allin Cottrell
Sent: Wednesday, April 08, 1998 8:01 AM
To: ope-l@galaxy.csuchico.edu
Subject: RE: [OPE] What is prior? Response to Paul C
I had written that I find it hard to believe that anyone who has ever shopped
in a store could disagree
that a "product has a monetary measure prior to its sale" (Alan Freeman).
Allin commented: "That's rather obviously beside the point. The price marked
on an item in a store need bear no relation to the monetary 'translation' of
its value as determined in production (which is what Alan was talking about).
The marked price may already reflect an adjustment to the conditions of
exchange (discount or premium relative to value)."
I agree with what Allin says here, except for his interpretation of Alan's
point. It seems to me that part of what he was arguing is that it is possible
to measure the worth of commodities in money terms, before they are sold.
That was the issue I was addressing. It seems to me that Allin's remark
implicitly accepts that this can be done, because he notes the existence of
two different pre-sale measures of the commodity's worth -- "The price marked
on an item in a store" and "the monetary 'translation' of its value as
determined in production."
The other thing Alan was arguing, I think, is that it is possible in principle
to compute "the monetary 'translation' of its value as determined in
production." As I read Allin's remark, he accepts this as well. So what is
the debate about?
Andrew Kliman