RE: Productive Forces

[Sabri Oncu <soncu@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

> But Charles' point raises an idea I've not thought
> of before--which likely has been well-discussed by
> those more knowledgeable than me: to what extent
> did Karl M. get his ideas about productive forces
> from the ideas of physics then current in Europe?
> The notion of "force" (as used in physics) certainly
> existed in Europe by the early 1700s. I guess the
> equations of mv or mv^2 also existed. Was Karl M.
> aware of such things and, if so, did it play a
> part in the development of his theory of history?

Hi Eric,

Being less knowledgeable than you are in this area, I better
leave the answers to the more knowledgeable. One thing is for
sure though: he definitely was aware of such things. The main
reason of why I am writing this is to let you know about a book I
found a while ago in a used book store. It is this: "The
Mathematical Manuscripts of Karl Marx, New Park Publications Ltd,
1983". The book was edited by S.A. Yanovskaya in Moscow in 1968.
The translation is by C. Aronson and M. Meo.

Very interesting book I would say and may answer some of your
questions. It appears from the book that he was well aware of the
stochastic nature of the system he was studying.

Sabri