Sraffa's Interpretation of Marx's Treatment of Fixed Capital
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12229778 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Fred Moseley (0000-0002-5420-010X, Mount Holyoke College, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2008 |
| Volume | 21 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 85-100 |
| Publication date | 2008-12-04 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Review of Political Economy (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0953-8259 • E-ISSN: 1465-3982 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/09538250802517006 |
| OpenAlex | W2094285828 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 8 |
It is well known that Sraffa analyzed fixed capital as a ‘joint product’ along with regular products, such that in each period a given machine (together with other material and labor inputs) produces a regular product plus a one-period-older machine of the same type. What is perhaps less well known is that Sraffa attributed this same method of dealing with fixed capital to Marx, and to Torrens, Malthus, and Ricardo. This paper examines the textual evidence presented by Sraffa to support his interpretation of Marx's treatment of fixed capital, and also examines more comprehensive textual evidence from the three volumes of Capital not considered by Sraffa. It is argued that Marx did not treat fixed capital as a joint product in his theory of prices, but instead consistently assumed a ‘straight-line’ method of depreciation, according to which a constant fraction of the total value of the fixed capital is transferred to the price of the product in each period, and the remaining value of the fixed capital is not part of the value of the product, but instead ‘remains fixed’ in the capital goods
Capital (architecture · Capital formation · Capital good · Consumption of fixed capital · Depreciation (economics · Economics · Financial capital · Fixed capital · Interpretation (philosophy · Microeconomics · Neoclassical economics · Prices of production · Product (mathematics · Production (economics · Public good · Value (mathematics · Economic Theory and Institutions · Economic Theory and Policy · Mathematics · Philosophy · Political Economy and Marxism
Principles of political economy
The New Palgrave
From The Principles of Political Economy and Taxation
Essays on the Theory of Joint Production
Removing an ‘insuperable obstacle’ in the way of an objectivist analysis
Theories of Surplus Value
Representing the production and circulation of commodities in material terms
Sraffa and the Theory of Prices
| Citations per year | 0.2 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2011 - 2019 (9) |
| Highly cited | No |