Value, price and profit

92 Pages·2013·1.16 MB·English

by  Julian Wells

The(so-called)transformationproblem
Marxthetemporalist
Marxtheprobabilist
Value, price and profit
The transformation problem
and its afterlife
Julian Wells
An Introduction to Post Keynesian Economics
and Political Economy
Kingston University 11–13 July 2013
8
7-0 VTahelutrea,nspforircmeataionndpropbrloemfit
0 anditsafterlife
3- JulianWells
1
0 AnIntroductiontoPostKeynesianEconomics
2 KingstoannUdnPivoelirtisciatylE11c–o1n3omJuyly2013
Reading
1. Preliminary: BrendanMcCooneyvideosat
http://www.youtube.com/user/brendanmcooney;Marx:
WageLabourandCapital,Value,PriceandProfit (also
publishedunderthetitleWages,PriceandProfit);Freeman
(1995);Wells(2013);Wright(2005)
2. Further: Kliman(2007)ReclaimingMarx’s“Capital“;Kliman
(2012)TheFailureofCapitalistProduction;Farjounand
Machover(1983)LawsofChaos;AllinCottrelletal. (2009)
ClassicalEconophysics.
3. Marx: Capital (butyouknewthat),andreferencesgiveninnotes
andslides.
4. Myweb-site: http://fass.kingston.ac.uk/faculty/
staff/cv.php?staffnum=287
The(so-called)transformationproblem
Marxthetemporalist
Marxtheprobabilist
How to use this document
If you are viewing this document on screen you should be using
a file called VPPshow.pdf; if so, you do not want to try printing
from it.
Instead, look to see if you also have a file called
VPPnotes.pdf. In this file each slide has an accompanying
Notes page.
You may want to print out this file so that the slides are laid out
in n×2 format, where n is the number of rows. If you want to
addyourownnotes2×2isgoodinA4landscapeformat;4×2
in portrait format works if you don’t mind small type.
8 Howtousethisdocument
0
07- Howtousethisdocument Iaffroyfimoleuicta.arlelevdieVwPiPnsghtohiws.dpodcfu;mifesnot,oynouscdroeennotyowuansthtooutldrybperiunstiinngg
13- IVNYnoPosuPtteenmasodatpy,ealwogsoea.k.npttdotfos.peIrneintifhtyiosouufitlteahliessoafichlheasvsleoidatehfiahltaetshceaanllselaiddcecsomarpealnayidinogut
20 iainndnpdo×yrotr2uarfitoofrwomrnmanta,otwtwehsoerr2kes×ni2fisyiosthugeodnooudnm’itnbmAeinr4dolafsnrmodwaslcsl.atypIfpeyeof.ourmwaatn;t4to×2
Notes
The(so-called)transformationproblem
Marxthetemporalist
Marxtheprobabilist
Outline
1 The (so-called) transformation problem
Prologue
Why it matters: the falling rate of profit
The problem posed and answered
The problem problematised
2 Marx the temporalist
The Temporal Single System Interpretation
Is Marx a temporalist?
3 Marx the probabilist
Dissolving the transformation problem
Econophysics and complexity
Is Marx a probabilist?
8 Outline
0 1The(so-called)transformationproblem
7- PWrhoyloigtumeatters:thefallingrateofprofit
13-0 Outline 2MaTTTIrsxhhhMeeethappTererrxootmebbamplleetopemmromarpplpaSoroloisisrnbeatgldleilsemat?nSadtyissaetendmswIenrteedrpretation
0 3Marxtheprobabilist
2 DEcisosnoolvpihnygstihcseatrnadnscfoomrmpaletixoitnyproblem
IsMarxaprobabilist?
Notes
1. Prologueexplainstheallegedproblem,andhowitcametobe
re-problematisedafterMarx’ssolution.
2. TSSI:‘makingsenseofMarx’—althoughitis‘20thcentury
Marxism’thatmadenonsenseofMarx. Fallingrateofprofit
(LTRPF):‘ineveryrespectthemostimportant’(Marx–source?).
3. T-problemisalogicalproblemrelatingtoaspecial
case—permanentactualequalisationnotonlyofprofitsbutof
marketprices;inotherwords,‘perfectcompetition’.
4. TheworldMarxwantedtochangewas‘actually-existing’
capitalism,sohowshouldweinterprethistheory?
Prologue
The(so-called)transformationproblem
Whyitmatters:thefallingrateofprofit
Marxthetemporalist
Theproblemposedandanswered
Marxtheprobabilist
Theproblemproblematised
What this is about ...
... andwhatit’snot
It’s about interpretation
isMarxatheoristofequilibriumordisequilibrium?
CompareKeynes...
and disproving claim that Marx’s theory is logically
incoherent
henceallowinghisotherworktobeconsideredseriously
inparticular,fallingrateofprofitasbasisofcapitalistcrisis
It’s not about ‘correcting’ or ‘completing’ Marx
neithernewmethodsnornewsolutions
notprovingMarx’svaluetheorycorrect
especiallynotprovingthateverythinghewrotewastrue
emphatically not about re-interpreting Marx
08 The(so-called)transformationproblem W...hanadtwthhatisit’sinsotabout...
13-07- ProlWoghuaetthisisabout... Iaint’nscdoahdihibsneieosMrpnupeacatrnerCorittxniovacmtiaulenloplrgatwahprr,ecirenefolaagKtrlaiielsmhitnytiinsogotenhofrsataeh.tqte.eu.Mroilwafibporrxriruok’smfittothoaberseodbricasyoesniiqsssuioldiolfiebgcrrieaicudpamilstla?yelrisiotucsrilsyis
20 It’snnneoeostpitathepbecrooiravunliltnye‘gwcnoMomrtarepertrxcho’stovindivnsgag’lnutooherrat‘nthceeeovwomerysrpyocltelhoutirtinirnoeggnch’steMwarroxtewastrue
emphaticallynotaboutre-interpretingMarx
Notes
Fundamentalprincipleofinterpretation(hermaneutics): canthe
authorbereadinsuchawayastomaketheirargumentmakesense?
Especiallynecessarywhenthetextisincompleteordoubtful;vol.sII
andIIIofCapital areboth. Hencenotaboutre-interpretingtofitin
withsomeotherpreferredperspective.
Prologue
The(so-called)transformationproblem
Whyitmatters:thefallingrateofprofit
Marxthetemporalist
Theproblemposedandanswered
Marxtheprobabilist
Theproblemproblematised
Two quotations...
... andtwointerpretations
IfM.Proudhonadmitsthatthevalueofproductsisdeterminedby
labourtime,heshouldequallyadmitthatitisthefluctuating
movementalonethatinasocietyfoundedonindividualexchanges
makeslabourthemeasureofvalue. Thereisnoready-made
constituted‘proportionalrelation’,butonlyaconstitutingmovement.1
[T]herateofprofit... seeksthe‘ideal’meanposition,i.e.amean
positionwhichdoesnotexistinreality. Inotherwords,ittendsto
shapeitselfaroundthisidealasanorm.2
1ThePovertyofPhilosophy: 71(emphasesadded)
2Capital Vol. III:273
8 The(so-called)transformationproblem T..w.aondqtwuoointtaertpiroetnatsio.ns..
0
7- Prologue IlafbMo.uPrrtoimudeh,ohneashdomuitldstehqautathllyeavdamlueittohfaptriotdisucthtseiflsudcetuteartminginedby
0 movementalonethatinasocietyfoundedonindividualexchanges
3- Twoquotations... mcoanksetistulatebdou‘prrothpeormtieoansaulrreelaotfiovna’l,ubeu.tTohnelryeaiscnoonsrteitaudtiyn-gmmadoevement.1
1 [T]herateofprofit...seeksthe‘ideal’meanposition,i.e.amean
0 pshoasiptieonitswehlficahroduonedstnhoistiedxeiastlainsraeanloityrm.I.n2otherwords,ittendsto
2
12TChaepiPtaolvVeortl.yIoIIf:P2h7i3losophy:71(emphasesadded)
Notes
BothcitedinFreeman(1995): eachquotationsupportsboth
temporalistandprobabilistinterpretations
1. Temporalism,becauseMarx’stheoryisdynamic,i.e. movement
intime
2. Probabilism,becausenon-equalisationatanygivent meanswe
havetoconsiderdistributionsofvariablesincross-sectionas
wellaslongitudinally,whichisasfarasthe‘gravitation’school
gets;seeergodicitybelow