Theories of Surplus Value

Theories of Surplus Value (German: Theorien über den Mehrwert) is a draft manuscript written by Karl Marx between January 1862 and July 1863.^[1] It is mainly concerned with the Western European theorizing about Mehrwert (added value or surplus value) from about 1750, critically examining the ideas of British, French and German political economists about wealth creation and the profitability of industries.^[2] At issue are the source, forms and determinants of the magnitude of surplus-value^[3] and Marx tries to explain how after failing to solve basic contradictions in its labour theories of value the classical school of political economy eventually broke up, leaving only "vulgar political economy" which no longer tried to provide a consistent, integral theory of capitalism, but instead offered only an eclectic amalgam of theories which seemed pragmatically useful or which justified the rationality of the market economy.^[4]^[5]

^ Enrique Dussel (Spring 2001). "The four drafts of Capital. Towards a new interpretation of the dialectical thought of Marx". Rethinking Marxism. Vol. 13. No. 1. pp. 10–25.
^ Allen Oakley (1985). Marx's Critique of Political Economy. London: Routledge.
^ Ronald L. Meek (1949). The Development of the Concept of Surplus in Economic Thought from Mun to Mill. Phd dissertation. Cambridge University.
^ Karin Wetzig (1980). Die theoriengeschichtlichen Lehren aus Karl Marx' "Theorien über den Mehrwert" für die Geschichte der Politischen Ökonomie. Phd dissertation in economics. University of Leipzig.
^ Dietmar Scholz (1981). Zum Platz der "Theorien über den Mehrwert", IV. vierter Band des "Kapital", im philosophischen Denken von Karl Marx. Phd dissertation in economic history. University of Jena.

[1] Enrique Dussel (Spring 2001). "The four drafts of Capital. Towards a new interpretation of the dialectical thought of Marx". Rethinking Marxism. Vol. 13. No. 1. pp. 10–25.

[2] Allen Oakley (1985). Marx's Critique of Political Economy. London: Routledge.

[3] Ronald L. Meek (1949). The Development of the Concept of Surplus in Economic Thought from Mun to Mill. Phd dissertation. Cambridge University.

[4] Karin Wetzig (1980). Die theoriengeschichtlichen Lehren aus Karl Marx' "Theorien über den Mehrwert" für die Geschichte der Politischen Ökonomie. Phd dissertation in economics. University of Leipzig.

[5] Dietmar Scholz (1981). Zum Platz der "Theorien über den Mehrwert", IV. vierter Band des "Kapital", im philosophischen Denken von Karl Marx. Phd dissertation in economic history. University of Jena.

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