M A Jones wrote:
>
> It cannot be worth more than the labour it embodies during extraction,
> processing etc.
Mark, the discussion is being carried on with people (including some of
the marxists involved) who believe in word magic. The word "value" has
a mystical force for them that they cannot give up. Now while the only
real and lasting cure for that illness is historical materialism, etymology
in the present instance offers a sort of band aid. So it is worth [sic]
rewording this sentence as "it cannot be valued at more than. . ." and
then pointing out that peculiarity of the english language which Engels
and Hannah Arendt (among many others) have remarked on, that in
it the concrete (act or thing) is very often given an english name (worth,
work) the abstract act or thing is very often given a latin name (value,
labor). Now then, when they insist on keeping magic in the word
"value" they are not just fighting against Marx, they are fighting against
the history of the English language. (I make this point parenthetically
in another post I'm working (not laboring) on, that I hope will have
some worth (not value).
Carrol
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