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A progress report on Marxian economic theory: On the controversies in exploitation theory since Okishio (1963)

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  • Naoki Yoshihara

    (Department of Economics, University of Massachusetts Amherst)

Abstract

This report explores the development of exploitation theory in mathematical Marxian economics by reviewing the main controversies surrounding the proper definition of exploitation since the contribution of Okishio (1963). The report first examines the debates on the Fundamental Marxian Theorem and Class-Exploitation Correspondence Principle, developed mainly in the 1970s and 1980s, followed by the property relation theory of exploitation by Roemer (1982). Then, the more recent exploitation theory proposed by Vrousalis (2013) and Wright (2000) is introduced. Finally, the report introduces and comments on recent axiomatic studies of exploitation by focusing on the work of Veneziani and Yoshihara (2015a).

Suggested Citation

  • Naoki Yoshihara, 2016. "A progress report on Marxian economic theory: On the controversies in exploitation theory since Okishio (1963)," Working Papers SDES-2016-3, Kochi University of Technology, School of Economics and Management, revised Apr 2016.
  • Handle: RePEc:kch:wpaper:sdes-2016-3
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    File URL: http://www.souken.kochi-tech.ac.jp/seido/wp/SDES-2016-3.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Roemer,John E., 1997. "Egalitarian Perspectives," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521574457, September.
    2. Roberto Veneziani & Naoki Yoshihara, 2011. "Strong Subjectivism In The Marxian Theory Of Exploitation: A Critique," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(1), pages 53-68, February.
    3. Marc Fleurbaey, 2014. "The facets of exploitation," Journal of Theoretical Politics, , vol. 26(4), pages 653-676, October.
    4. Morishima, Michio, 1974. "Marx in the Light of Modern Economic Theory," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 42(4), pages 611-632, July.
    5. Yoshihara, Naoki, 2010. "Class and exploitation in general convex cone economies," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 75(2), pages 281-296, August.
    6. Herbert Gintis & Samuel Bowles, 1981. "Structure and Practice in the Labor Theory of Value," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 12(4), pages 1-26, January.
    7. Naoki Yoshihara & Roberto Veneziani, 2009. "Exploitation as the Unequal Exchange of Labour: An Axiomatic Approach," Working Papers 655, Queen Mary University of London, School of Economics and Finance.
    8. Morishima, Michio, 1978. "S. Bowles and H. Gintis on the Marxian Theory of Value and Heterogeneous Labour," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 2(3), pages 305-309, September.
    9. John E. Roemer, 2015. "On the problem of socialist economic design," Journal of Theoretical Politics, , vol. 27(1), pages 34-42, January.
    10. Gilbert Skillman, 2014. "Capitalist exploitation without capitalist production: The consequences of imperfect contracting," Journal of Theoretical Politics, , vol. 26(4), pages 629-652, October.
    11. Naoki Yoshihara, 1998. "Wealth, Exploitation and Labor Discipline in the Contemporary Capitalist Economy," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(1), pages 23-61, February.
    12. Takao Fujimoto & Yukihiko Fujita, 2008. "A Refutation Of The Commodity Exploitation Theorem," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(3), pages 530-540, July.
    13. Roberto Veneziani, 2013. "Exploitation, inequality and power," Journal of Theoretical Politics, , vol. 25(4), pages 526-545, October.
    14. Bowles, Samuel & Gintis, Herbert, 1978. "Professor Morishima on Heterogeneous Labour and Marxian Value Theory," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 2(3), pages 311-314, September.
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    16. Duncan K. Foley, 1982. "The Value of Money the Value of Labor Power and the Marxian Transformation Problem," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 14(2), pages 37-47, June.
    17. Roemer John E. & Silvestre Joaquim, 1993. "The Proportional Solution for Economies with Both Private and Public Ownership," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 59(2), pages 426-444, April.
    18. Veneziani, Roberto & Yoshihara, Naoki, 2014. "One Million Miles to Go: Taking the Axiomatic Road to Defining Exploitation," Discussion Paper Series 615, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    19. Veneziani, Roberto, 2007. "Exploitation and time," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 132(1), pages 189-207, January.
    20. Naoki Yoshihara & Roberto Veneziani, 2009. "Exploitation as the Unequal Exchange of Labour: An Axiomatic Approach," Working Papers 655, Queen Mary University of London, School of Economics and Finance.
    21. Bowles, Samuel & Gintis, Herbert, 1977. "The Marxian Theory of Value and Heterogeneous Labour: A Critique and Reformulation," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 1(2), pages 173-192, June.
    22. 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.
    23. Ulrich Krause, 1981. "Heterogeneous Labour and the Fundamental Marxian Theorem," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 48(1), pages 173-178.
    24. John E. Roemer, 2010. "Kantian Equilibrium," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 112(1), pages 1-24, March.
    25. Roemer, John E, 1980. "A General Equilibrium Approach to Marxian Economics," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 48(2), pages 505-530, March.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Jonathan F Cogliano, 2023. "Marx’s equalised rate of exploitation," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 47(1), pages 133-169.
    2. Soh Kaneko & Naoki Yoshihara, 2018. "On the General Impossibility of Persistent Unequal Exchange Free Trade Equilibria in the Pre-industrial World Economy," Working Papers SDES-2018-19, Kochi University of Technology, School of Economics and Management, revised Dec 2018.
    3. Yoshihara, Naoki & Veneziani, Roberto, 2023. "The measurement of labour content: An axiomatic approach," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 392-402.
    4. 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.
    5. Cogliano, Jonathan F. & Kaneko, Soh & Veneziani, Roberto & Yoshihara, Naoki, 2020. "International Exploitation, Capital Export, and Unequal Exchange," Discussion Paper Series 718, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    6. Jonathan F. Cogliano & Roberto Veneziani & Naoki Yoshihara, 2022. "Computational methods and classical‐Marxian economics," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(2), pages 310-349, April.
    7. Rylan Chinnock & Roberto Veneziani & Naoki Yoshihara, 2024. "Axiomatic Marxian Exploitation Theory: a Survey of the Recent Literature," Working Papers 972, Queen Mary University of London, School of Economics and Finance.
    8. Yoshihara, Naoki & Veneziani, Roberto, 2013. "The Measurement of Labour Content: A General Approach," Discussion Paper Series 587, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    9. Roberto Veneziani & Naoki Yoshihara, 2017. "Globalisation and inequality in a dynamic economy: an axiomatic analysis of unequal exchange," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer;The Society for Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 49(3), pages 445-468, December.
    10. Galanis, Giorgos & Veneziani, Roberto & Yoshihara, Naoki, 2016. "Growth, Exploitation and Class Inequalities," Discussion Paper Series 636, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    11. Yoshihara, Naoki & Veneziani, Roberto, 2018. "The Theory Of Exploitation As The Unequal Exchange Of Labour," Economics and Philosophy, Cambridge University Press, vol. 34(3), pages 381-409, November.
    12. Naoki Yoshihara, 2021. "On the labor theory of value as the basis for the analysis of economic inequality in the capitalist economy," Japanese Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(2-3), pages 190-212, July.
    13. Weikai Chen & Naoki Yoshihara, 2019. "Persistent Exploitation with Intertemporal Reproducible Solution in Pre-industrial Economies," UMASS Amherst Economics Working Papers 2019-10, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Department of Economics.
    14. Galanis, Giorgos & Veneziani, Roberto & Yoshihara, Naoki, 2018. "The Dynamics of Exploitation and Inequality in Economies with Heterogeneous Agents," Discussion Paper Series 679, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    15. Jonathan F. Cogliano, 2017. "Surplus Value Production and Realization in Marxian Theory - Applications to the U.S., 1987-2015," Working Paper Series 2017-01, Dickinson College, Department of Economics.
    16. Rotta, Tomás N. & Kumar, Rishabh, 2024. "Was Marx right? Development and exploitation in 43 countries, 2000–2014," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 213-223.
    17. Yoshihara, Naoki, 2022. "Correspondence between Exploitation and Profits in General Neoclassical Production Economies," Discussion Paper Series 739, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Proper Definitions of UE Exploitation; Property Relations Definition of Exploitation; Profit-Exploitation Correspondence Principle;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • D51 - Microeconomics - - General Equilibrium and Disequilibrium - - - Exchange and Production Economies

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