Re: Falsifiability and the law of value

["Devine, James" <jdevine@xxxxxxx>]

Title: RE: [PEN-L] Falsifiability and the law of value

 Whether or not Marx's law of value is "falsifiable" depends on your interpretation of the LOV. I see it as a heuristic derived from Marx's materialist conception of history, looking at society as a process of collective labor. Heuristics can't be "falsified." Instead, we have to look at the validity and usefulness of the hypotheses derived by using they heuristic. Further, the LOV must be put in context by comparing it to other non-falsifiable heuristics such as the neoclassical economist's utility-maximization framework.

I haven't read Cockshott and Cottrell's study, but there are several studies indicating a high correlation between estimated Marxian values and prices of production. But to my mine, the deviation between values and prices is just as important a social phenomenon as is their convergence. If prices and values corresponded exactly, there would be no basis for commodity fetishism or the illusions created by competition. (These two concepts begin and end the three volumes of CAPITAL, respectively.)

Jim

-----Original Message-----
From: Chris Burford
To: PEN-L@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: 6/12/2003 11:30 PM
Subject: [PEN-L] Falsifiability and the law of value

Can I point out that the marxian law of value, probably cannot be
falsified, but may be "true".

The only empirical study I know about it is by Paul Cockshott and Allin
Cottrell showing that it could fit with macroeconomic data, I think for
Scotland if I recall correctly.

Chris Burford