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This is sparked by research into Marx's concept of the law of value and
the earlier discussion on the origins of the terms 'neoclassical' and
'classical'.
Aladar Madarasz (15/01/99) wrote:
> Marx used the term "classical political economy" to characterize not
> "the economic writers before him" but those French and English writers
> from Petty and Boisguillebert till Ricardo and Sismondi who - according
> to him - had supported and developed the labour theory of value.
Aladar's description of Marx's concept of classical is widely-held but I
don't think it's what Marx said, as indicated by the citations I posted a
couple of days ago and other contributions in the 'neoclassical' thread.
His distinction centres, as has been said, on those who examined the
inner connection of things, and those who confined themselves to their
outer appearance.
Also as far as I can ascertain, Marx never used the term 'labour theory
of value'. He spoke variously of the 'law of value' or simply the theory
of value. I think the difference is rather important when it is studied
carefully, since the law of value distinguishes Marx from the classicals
in being a law of motion, that is, a non-equilibrium formulation of value,
a formulation which does not pre-suppose the equality of demand and
supply.
I have a paper which deals with this in some detail, as I think the
theoretical differences are very considerable. It can be found (with
papers from many other contributors) in the sessions for the upcoming
conference of the IWGVT at the EEA, on our website
www.greenwich.ac.uk/~fa03/iwgvt
I'd be interested to know where the term 'labour theory of value'
originates. I suspect it is widely disseminated in Eastern countries and
in many semi-official writings about Marx because it was part of the
official teaching, and this begins I think because Lenin characterised
Marx's theory as the 'labour theory of value' in 'Three Sources and
component parts of Marxism'. However Kautsky's use of the term pre-dates
Lenin in his 1905 'Economic Doctrines of Karl Marx' and I suspect that
Lenin simply took it from Kautsky, since before 1914 there would have been
no reason not to, Kautsky being generally held in great respect by Russian
Marxists.
I think the reason it is so widely disseminated in Western countries is
that, first, economists tended to just take over the official view unless
they had a specific reason to question it, and second, they found it
rather convenient to amalgamate Marx with Ricardo and Smith so that they
didn't have to deal so specifically with Marx's own theory, which was very
different from that of Ricardo and Smith.
Where did Kautsky get it from? I suspect, though I haven't researched it,
that the term is Austrian in origin, or perhaps in some sense a response
by Kautsky response to the Austrians. But I'd be interested to know.
Alan
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