[OPE-L] Dumenil and Levy on Unproductive Labor

[glevy@xxxxxxxxx]

Gerard and Dominique have written a new (March, '06) paper on
"Unproductive Labor as Profit Rate Maximizing Labor" which is
*attached*.

In this paper they seek to take "unproductive labor seriously."
Profit Rate Maximizing (PRM) Labor includes the "tasks of the
active capitalist" and "their delegation to salaried workers"
some of those managerial tasks.  An issue here is whether part of
the labor of capitalists is productive.

Note also the short section "Basic facts about the labor theory of
value".  The LTV while "central to the understanding of capitalism
... does not explain everything".  Points about exploitation,
capital, and competition and the falling profit rate are then
discussed.  The section on the last point (see p. 7) many may find
particularly controversial.

Any comments?

In solidarity, Jerry

Attachment: dumenil+levy on unproductive labor.pdf
Description: Adobe PDF document