Re: Unequal exchange (long)

Fri, 17 Jul 1998 09:39:15 +0200
Alejandro Rivero (arg19@tid.es)

Still, I'd like to hear more about this issue of "surplus
labour as origin of capital accumulation", even after
reading the long posting from Andy, it seems to me a
combination of two mistakes.

Actually, I can imagine systems where additional labour drives
the owner to benefit loss, due to the offer/demand mechanism.
So "surplus" labour, if it exists, is different of additional
labour. Similarly, I can imagine porcess where an actual
decrease of labour time would increment owner benefits, so
"surplus" labour could be less labour!

As for capital accumulation, while I can imagine such concept,
the use given in Andy post sounds, so to say, as "flogisto
theory". I can not see why the interaction of capital with
itself is forbidden to produce additional capital. If the
argument is about conservation laws, the only one Nature
accepts is energy, and well, capital can stole energy from
a variety of sources, human work being only one of them.

Yours,

Alejandro