Chris B. writes: >Obviously I am in general sympathy with Charles's defence of the LOV approach, but I think Justin helpfully pinpoints a line of demarcation. For Justin a "law" is a "precisely formulable generalization". Many might agree the merits of such an approach, but I am fairly confident that Marx and Engels would not. People will have to make a value judgement about this. <
Marx uses the word "law" differently than Justin does. Marx's "laws" are dialectical, non-deterministic. But many interpret his ideas in Justin's terms, "proving" that Marx was a determinist. BTW, the "laws" of supply & demand are also non-determinist. S&D cannot give specific answers to anything in the abstract. Rather, they have to be given empirical content. S&D might best be seen as a (an?) heuristic, acting as a guide to thought. Of course, Marx's value theory -- or law of value -- is also a heuristic. JDevine
