The Value-Form Paradigm vs. Marx’s “Capital,” Part 1 -- Ep. 17

Some years ago, Andrew participated in a published symposium (http://www.copejournal.com/critique-of-political-economy-vol-1/) on the “value-form paradigm”—a Marx-inspired and market-focused strand of political economy. Andrew (http://www.copejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/andrew-kliman-on-capitalism_s-historical-specificity-and-price-determination.pdf) and others criticized the value-form paradigm, and the noted value-form theorist Patrick Murray (http://www.copejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/patrick-murray-avoiding-bad-abstractions.pdf) responded to them. In this episode (and a future one), Andrew replies to Murray’s paper—for the first time anywhere. He and Brendan discuss differences between Marx and value-form theory regarding how commodities’ values are determined and whether capitalism is essentially a monetary system. They also engage in a broader dialogue on the general features of the value-form paradigm and its political implications; some of that discussion focuses on how Marx’s critique of Proudhonism is relevant to the value-form paradigm. The segment includes references to Marx’s Capital—chapter 1 (https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/ch01.htm), chapter 2 (https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/ch02.htm), and chapter 7 (https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/ch07.htm) of volume 1, and chapter 1 of volume 2 (https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1885-c2/ch01.htm#4)—and to Paul A. Samuelson’s famous paper, “Understanding the Marxian Notion of Exploitation.” (https://www.jstor.org/stable/2721055) The current-events segment focuses again on the COVID-19 pandemic––especially Lysol Don’s latest epidemiological wisdom and Nazis storming Michigan’s Capitol building. Are there really “good people on both sides” of this lunacy? * ~ * ~ * ~ * Radio Free Humanity is a podcast covering news, politics and philosophy from a Marxist-Humanist perspective. It is co-hosted by Brendan Cooney and Andrew Kliman. We intend to release new episodes