>>> Jim Devine <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 04/18/00 11:03AM >>
BTW, I think it's possible to develop a Marxian theory of the origins of
profit without equal exchange or even the "law of value." Marx starts with
a societal perspective, with "capital as a whole" in vol. I of CAPITAL and
moves in the direction of dealing with individuals and individual
differences. But I think one can develop of Marxian theory of exploitation
even starting from an individualistic, neoclassical perspective, and then
moving toward the societal perspective. (See my "Taxation without
Representation: Reconstructing Marx's Theory of Capitalist Exploitation."
In William Dugger, ed. _Inequality: Radical Institutionalist Views on Race,
Class, Gender, and Nation_. Greenwood Press, 1996.) I don't think this
would have been possible without Marx's work, however. Unlike Roemer, who
simply jettisons Marx's methodology and reduces Marx's theory of
exploitation to a static and formalistic theory of scarcity rents, I think
that Marx's dialectical method is absolutely necessary (though hardly
sufficient).
))))))))))))))))))))
CB: Now there's an interesting thought. Care to elaborate a little ?
CB
