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Exploitation of Labor or Exploitation of Commodities?

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  • Deepankar Basu

Abstract

Attempts to use commodities to construct theories of value and use such value theory to claim that, in capitalism, commodities can be exploited, just like labor is, rest on two conceptual flaws: (a) failure to distinguish between labor and labor power and (b) failure to distinguish labor power and other commodities. One way to avoid these conceptual mistakes is to use the labor theory of value. JEL Classification: B51

Suggested Citation

  • Deepankar Basu, 2023. "Exploitation of Labor or Exploitation of Commodities?," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 55(2), pages 233-250, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:reorpe:v:55:y:2023:i:2:p:233-250
    DOI: 10.1177/04866134221139011
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Roberto Veneziani & Luca Zamparelli & Naoki Yoshihara, 2017. "A Progress Report On Marxian Economic Theory: On The Controversies In Exploitation Theory Since Okishio (1963)," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 1421-1448, December.
    2. Takao Fujimoto & Yukihiko Fujita, 2008. "A Refutation Of The Commodity Exploitation Theorem," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(3), pages 530-540, July.
    3. Naoki Yoshihara & Roberto Veneziani, 2013. "Exploitation of Labor and Exploitation of Commodities," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 45(4), pages 517-524, December.
    4. Naoki Yoshihara, 2017. "A Progress Report On Marxian Economic Theory: On The Controversies In Exploitation Theory Since Okishio (," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(2), pages 632-659, April.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    labor theory of value; generalized commodity exploitation theorem;

    JEL classification:

    • B51 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - Socialist; Marxian; Sraffian

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