[OPE-L:5586] (Fwd) Re: Re: Re: Ockam's Razor

["Andrew Brown" <Andrew@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

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From:           	Paul Cockshott <paul@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To:             	Andrew@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject:        	Re: [OPE-L:5571] Re: Re: Ockam's Razor
Date sent:      	Wed, 16 May 2001 12:04:29 +0100

On Mon, 14 May 2001, you wrote:

> The last I remember was Fred reproducing an equation for
> aggregate value added put forward by Geert and Michael:
>
> Y=mL
>
> where
> Y: aggregate value added
> m: monetary expression of labour
> L: abstract labour time
>
> It seems that, according to value-form theory, Y and mL are on a
> par and *mutually determine* one another. Indeed it maybe that the
> left hand side of the equation dominates the right hand side [if 'form
> determination' is taken in a quantitative as well as qualitative
> sense]. That being so, the *magnitude* of value added is not, in
> any sense, explained by reference to the magnitude of abstract
> labour. Rather, we need further specification of how 'mutual
> determination' occurs before we have a quantitative
> theory/explanation at all.
>


Note that this is a pretty trivial matter since it relates to
aggregate price and aggregate labour. Marx concerns himself
with the much more interesting issue of relative prices and
relative labour contents.


--
Paul Cockshott, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland
0141 330 3125  mobile:07946 476966
paul@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.dcs.gla.ac.uk/people/personal/wpc/
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