Abstract Labour and Socialism
In: Historical MaterialismSearch for other papers by Kamal Khosravi in
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Abstract
Should the regulation of production and distribution in a socialist society be based on the law of value? In this article we ask (1) Is this question not based on an ontological understanding of labour, on a rational and therefore conceptual understanding of abstract labour and, ultimately, a transhistorical understanding of value and the so-called ‘law of value’?; (2) is it not precisely this deception and power of the fetishism of commodities that, by eternalising value and the ‘law of value’, limits the horizon and perspective of ‘realistic politics’ (Realpolitik)?; and (3) whether this question does not treat socialism as a political situation where the solution to its ‘economic’ problem is unrelated to its very identity? In order to answer these questions, we provide a novel understanding of Marx’s fundamental category of value, its substance, form and magnitude, with the help of the German expression Formgehalt, translated as form-content.
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Marx, Karl 1967a, Capital. Volume I, New York: International Publishers, available at: <https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/>.
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Marx, Karl 1967b, Capital. Volume III, New York: International Publishers, available at: <https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1894-c3/>.
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Marx, Karl 1973, Grundrisse: Foundations of the Critique of Political Economy, translated by Martin Nicolaus, Harmondsworth: Penguin, available at: <https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1857/grundrisse/>.
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Marx, Karl and Friedrich Engels 1983, Karl Marx/Friedrich Engels Gesamtausgabe (MEGA): ‘Das Kapital’ und Vorarbeiten. Karl Marx. Das Kapital: Kritik der Politischen Ökonomie. Erster Band. Hamburg 1867. Apparat, Berlin: Dietz Verlag.
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Marx, Karl and Frederick Engels 1989, Marx/Engels Collected Works, Volume 24: Marx and Engels: 1874–1883, London: Lawrence & Wishart.
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Marx, Karl and Frederick Engels 1991, Marx/Engels Collected Works, Volume 33: Marx and Engels: 1861–1863, London: Lawrence & Wishart.
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Abstract Labour and Socialism
In: Historical MaterialismSearch for other papers by Kamal Khosravi in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Abstract
Should the regulation of production and distribution in a socialist society be based on the law of value? In this article we ask (1) Is this question not based on an ontological understanding of labour, on a rational and therefore conceptual understanding of abstract labour and, ultimately, a transhistorical understanding of value and the so-called ‘law of value’?; (2) is it not precisely this deception and power of the fetishism of commodities that, by eternalising value and the ‘law of value’, limits the horizon and perspective of ‘realistic politics’ (Realpolitik)?; and (3) whether this question does not treat socialism as a political situation where the solution to its ‘economic’ problem is unrelated to its very identity? In order to answer these questions, we provide a novel understanding of Marx’s fundamental category of value, its substance, form and magnitude, with the help of the German expression Formgehalt, translated as form-content.
| All Time | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 756 | 386 | 22 |
| Full Text Views | 1148 | 325 | 2 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 2708 | 1023 | 7 |