> I would not say that Mandel has said the final word about the
> development of capitalism in the 20th century, but at least he does
> show how you might explain it with reference to the laws of motion
> specified by Marx.
Marx, in the "Preface" to the 1st edition of Volume 1 of _Capital_,
referred to the "economic law of motion of modern society". Nowhere --
that I can recall -- does he refer to the "laws of motion" (NB: plural).
Is my recollection failing me? Did Marx elsewhere refer to "laws of
motion"? If not, who was the first? Engels? Kautsky? Aveling?
[btw, Jurriaan: what -- specifically -- are the "laws of motion
specified by Marx"?]
Beyond the historical questions above, of what significance is the
"law vs. laws" question? Independently of whether Marx wrote about the
"laws of motion", should we? If so, why? If not, why not?
In solidarity, Jerry