Re: (OPE-L) Re: Theories of value and price in contemporary Chinese Marxism.

["michael a. lebowitz" <mlebowit@xxxxxx>]

At 12:14 05/02/2004, jerry wrote:

Hi Alejandro:
 
Do you -- or others on the list -- know what debates on this
subject have occurred in China by Marxists  _since 1989_ when
the article by Lichtenstein in the _Atlantic  Economic Review_ 
was published?  To what extent are they familiar with
contemporary debates on these topics elsewhere?
 
In solidarity, Jerry

I posted the following a little while ago on pen-l in response to
comments about Chinese Marxists:

Subject: China's new Marxist left

        I don't know if you  could say that the 'Marxists' were entirely marginalised. At an official conference of Marxist economists in Beijing less than two years ago, I was struck by the vigour with which the assembled Chinese Marxist economists were discussing the law of value--- in particular, how to demonstrate that utility yields value and the capitalist is a productive worker. (All this in response to a call from above for updating the law of value for the modern socialist market economy--- and a week before a number of capitalists received the 'model worker' awards for May Day.) Han Deqiang (mentioned in a note by Stephen as China's best left economist) was not invited to the conference (but instead was speaking to many students). He said he probably was not invited because he didn't agree with the theory of productive forces (ie., that all that matters is that the productive forces advance). He will, however, be at the Marx Conference in Havana in May (along with David Harvey, Samir Amin, Istvan Meszaros, Leo Panitch and a host of others).
        in solidarity,
        michael

Michael A. Lebowitz

Professor Emeritus

Economics Department

Simon Fraser University

Burnaby, B.C., Canada V5A 1S6

Currently based in Venezuela. Can be reached at

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(58-212) 573-4111

fax: (58-212) 573-7724