IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eme/ijsepp/v37y2010i3p214-238.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The enduring significance of the thought of Karl Marx

Author

Listed:
  • Tom Jeannot

Abstract

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to assess Marx's enduring significance in the center of his thought, the first volume ofCapital. InCapitaland related writings, Marx systematically works out his theory of value. Although Marx's value theory has been widely thought to be internally inconsistent, the “myth of inconsistency” in reclaiming Marx's “Capital” has been recently refuted by Kliman. Design/methodology/approach - Based on Kliman's refutation, a logically coherent interpretation of Marx's theory is on hand. The paper therefore aims to bring out the philosophical character of Marx's critique of political economy, to which the terms and relations of value theory are essential. It is rooted in the abiding humanism he first discovered through his critical appropriation and transformation of Hegelian philosophy. Findings - Following Raya Dunayevskaya inMarxism and Freedom, this paper interprets Marx to have founded a new critical science of society “that was at the same time a philosophy of history.” Hence Marx's use of ontological categories inCapital(“substance,” “essence,” “appearance”) is fully methodologically self‐conscious and deliberate. Categories derived from Hegel'sScience of Logic(as Lenin rightly grasped) explain the “bewitched and distorted world” of capitalist social relations. Originality/value - This paper shows that, thinking historically, Marx works out the “notion” of capital from the standpoint of its negation. As if seen through a camera obscura, capital is the domination of alienated, past, objectified, abstract, and dead labor over living labor power. In conclusion, emphasis is placed on the subjective as well as the objective condition necessary to the revolutionary transcendence of the law of value.

Suggested Citation

  • Tom Jeannot, 2010. "The enduring significance of the thought of Karl Marx," International Journal of Social Economics, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 37(3), pages 214-238, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:eme:ijsepp:v:37:y:2010:i:3:p:214-238
    DOI: 10.1108/03068291011018776
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/03068291011018776/full/html?utm_source=repec&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=repec
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers
    File URL: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/03068291011018776/full/pdf?utm_source=repec&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=repec
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1108/03068291011018776?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alan Freeman & Andrew Kliman & Julian Wells (ed.), 2004. "The New Value Controversy and the Foundations of Economics," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 2274.
    2. Hollander,Samuel, 2008. "The Economics of Karl Marx," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521793995.
    3. Hollander,Samuel, 2008. "The Economics of Karl Marx," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521790789.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Cavalieri, Duccio, 2015. "Structural interdependence in monetary economics: theoretical assessment and policy implications," MPRA Paper 65526, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Jianhua Wang & Yongping Wei & Shan Jiang & Yong Zhao & Yuyan Zhou & Weihua Xiao, 2017. "Understanding the Human-Water Relationship in China during 722 B.C.-1911 A.D. from a Contradiction and Co-Evolutionary Perspective," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 31(3), pages 929-943, February.
    3. Gilles Dostaler, 2012. "The General Theory, Marx, Marxism and the Soviet Union," Chapters, in: Thomas Cate (ed.), Keynes’s General Theory, chapter 11, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    4. Meghnad Desai, 2014. "Marx, Keynes and Hayek and the Great Recession of 2008," Chapters, in: Riccardo Bellofiore & Giovanna Vertova (ed.), The Great Recession and the Contradictions of Contemporary Capitalism, chapter 3, pages 50-64, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    5. Anthony M. Endres & David A. Harper, 2012. "The kinetics of capital formation and economic organisation," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 36(4), pages 963-980.
    6. Levrero, Enrico Sergio, 2009. "Marx on absolute and relative wages," MPRA Paper 20976, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Yukihiko Fujita, 2021. "On the All Commodities Surplus Theorem," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 41(2), pages 276-282.
    8. Dipankar Das, 2022. "A Relationship Between the Factor Indivisibility and the Output Elasticity of the Indivisible Factor," Studies in Microeconomics, , vol. 10(1), pages 82-105, June.
    9. 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.
    10. Bill Lucarelli, 2011. "The Economics of Financial Turbulence," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 14252.
    11. Freeman, Alan, 2009. "Investing In Civilization," MPRA Paper 26807, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 15 Feb 2009.
    12. Julian Wells, Julian, 2007. "The rate of profit as a random variable," MPRA Paper 98235, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Freeman, Alan, 1991. "National Accounts in Value Terms: The Social Wage and Profit Rate in Britain 1950-1986," MPRA Paper 52760, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 05 Feb 1991.
    14. Freeman, Alan, 2012. "The Profit Rate in the Presence of Financial Markets: a Necessary Correction," MPRA Paper 52625, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 01 Jul 2012.
    15. Andrew Kliman, 2006. "Screpanti versus Marx on exploitation: a comment," Review of Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(2), pages 265-269.
    16. Freeman, Alan, 2009. "Marxism without Marx: a note towards a critique," MPRA Paper 48618, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 17 Nov 2009.
    17. 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.
    18. Freeman, Alan, 2010. "Trends in Value Theory since 1881," MPRA Paper 48646, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 04 Jan 2011.
    19. Alberto Benítez Sánchez, 2011. "Distribution, exploitation and profit rates," Revista Cuadernos de Economia, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, FCE, CID, June.
    20. Freeman, Alan & Kliman, Andrew, 2005. "Beyond talking the talk: towards a critical pluralist practice," MPRA Paper 48644, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 07 Nov 2006.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eme:ijsepp:v:37:y:2010:i:3:p:214-238. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Emerald Support (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.