[OPE-L:7225] [OPE-L:750] Re: TSS and the Okishio Theorem
clyder@gn.apc.org
Thu, 25 Mar 1999 09:59:56 +0000
At 11:35 AM 24-03-99 -0500, you wrote:
>3. In real history, real wages aren't constant, but rise at about the same
>rate as labor productivity, giving rise to a roughly constant value of
>labor-power. Marx analyzes the falling rate of profit on the basis of the
>hypothesis of a constant value of labor-power, not a constant real wage.
>When the value of labor power is constant, technical change that is
>labor-saving and capital-using will lower the rate of profit on new
>investment.
>
Not so convinced of this. All of the long period time series that
I have constructed for Britain indicate a rising rate of surplus
value.
One time series from 1855 to 1910 shows it rising from 1.04 to 1.35
Another from 1920 to 1938 shows a rise from 1.27 to 2.25
A third series from 1948 to 1969 shows a rise from 1.08 to 1.43
A final series from 1970 to 1989 shows a rise from 0.55 to 1.83
The discontinuities reflect different sources available for the
periods which enforce somewhat different modes of calculation.
However, the trends are consistent, and indicate that the value
of labour power tends to decline over a scale of decades.
Paul Cockshott