Is Marx’s Theory of Value Still Relevant?
Alfredo Saad-Filho Senior Lecturer in Political Economy of Development SOAS, University of London, UK [email protected]
Abstract
This paper assesses the internal consistence of four views of Marx’s theory of value, the ‘traditional Marxism’ associated with Dobb, Meek and Sweezy, Sraffian interpretations of Marx, value form theory (especially the Rubin tradition) and the ‘new interpretation’ of value theory. On the basis of a critique of these approaches, a class interpretation of this theory is outlined, in which value theory is structured in and through the primacy of class relations in capitalism. Finally, the potential relevance of the class interpretation of Marx’s value theory is briefly Is2 Marx’s Theory of Value Still Relevant?
assessed in the light of contemporary political, economic and social problems. The title of this paper is deliberately provocative, on at least three grounds. First, it implies that the ‘relevance’ of social theories