Jurriaan, as I mentioned yesterday, Marx's category of universal labor is relevant here -- if you want to work within value theory. I think the more relevant material is the Grundrisse around p. 700, where he explains why value theory [which is merely an analysis of how capitalism works] becomes irrelevant in the face of a situation where information becomes important. In effect, he says that value theory has some relevance when the saving of labor time is socially productive, but in an information economy [not his expression], it is not.
Jurriaan Bendien wrote: > Well my question may be been naively stupid, but I nevertheless got > some very interesting responses. Thank you all very much. I did read > Michael's book on the information age, but he doesn't really go into > the implications for Marxian value theory explicitly, that is all. My > thought was that if Marx's basic analysis of value is quite sound, > then we should be able to predict that the production and output of > information "products" will take a certain definite form, it will have > a definite developmental pattern, which conforms to the > characteristics of capitalist commodity trade (this is what Perelman > implies or argues anyway). But then there is the question of the > extent to which trade in information changes the whole nature and > valuation of commodity trade itself, including how we think about > commodities themselves (the Smithian concept of the "vendible > commodity" doesn't seem exhaustive). What I was suggesting is that the > conversion of information into a commodity with a relatively stable > exchange-value is not automatic but problematic, it requires inter > alia, a set of social relations so that you are able to assert > property rights and monopolise information, you have to be able to > "extract" it and so on. I thought somebody might have attempted an > analysis along these lines developed explicitly from the categories of > Marx's Capital combined with what we know about the characteristics of > information production, distribution and consumption. > > So it doesn't cost anything to pass knowledge on, once produced ? How > about transmission, transport and communication costs ? How are we > operating our social accounting here ? I am paying phone charges > right now. > > Cheers > > Jurriaan -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
