Sraffa's Constructive and Interpretive Work, and Marx

This article provides a summary account of Piero Sraffa's constructive and interpretive work on the classical approach to the theory of value and distribution and its relationship with Marx's contributions. It is shown that in the early phase of his constructive work Sraffa developed his e...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inReview of political economy Vol. 30; no. 3; pp. 428 - 442
Main Authors Gehrke, Christian, Kurz, Heinz D.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London Routledge 03.07.2018
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Accumulation
Karl Marx
Labor
labour theory of value
Marxism
Piero Sraffa
Production
profit rate
Profits
surplus approach
Value
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:This article provides a summary account of Piero Sraffa's constructive and interpretive work on the classical approach to the theory of value and distribution and its relationship with Marx's contributions. It is shown that in the early phase of his constructive work Sraffa developed his equation systems by adopting a 'physical real cost' approach and a strictly objectivist point of view, and completely eschewed Marx's labour-based approach and the related Marxian concepts. Only at a later stage did he explore systematically the relationship between his own modern re-formulation of the surplus approach to the theory of value and distribution and Marx's contribution. He considered Marx's most important analytical contribution to the further development of the surplus approach to consist of the re-integration of circular production relations, which allowed him to see the existence of a maximum rate of profits and its role in an analysis of accumulation and technical change.
ISSN:0953-8259
1465-3982
DOI:10.1080/09538259.2018.1442783