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The mercantile form of value and its place in Marx's theory of the commodity

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  • Pablo Ahumada

Abstract

This paper reinterprets Marx's theory of the form of value in the context of his theory of the commodity. Building on the unresolved tension between Marx's concept of value and the specific character of the labour constituting itself as value in his theory of commodity production, it is argued that Marx's is actually a theory of the mercantile form of value. Thus, it becomes evident that the process of realisation of material production in commodity production and the process giving rise to money are the same, and that they are only the material manifestation of the process of realisation of private and independent work as social labour. This characterises commodity production as the unity-in-difference of a material and a social moment, showing that Marx's mercantile form of value is the conceptualisation of Adam Smith's invisible hand. The paper also argues that Marx's is not the theory of a money commodity. Copyright 2012, OUP.

Suggested Citation

  • Pablo Ahumada, 2012. "The mercantile form of value and its place in Marx's theory of the commodity," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 36(4), pages 843-867.
  • Handle: RePEc:oup:cambje:v:36:y:2012:i:4:p:843-867
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/cje/bes015
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    Cited by:

    1. Andrea Ricci, 2016. "Metamorphoses of Value.The Concept of a Commodity in Marx’s Capital," Working Papers 1609, University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Department of Economics, Society & Politics - Scientific Committee - L. Stefanini & G. Travaglini, revised 2016.

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