The Socialism of to-day

Bibliographic data

Monograph

Identifikator:: 835096955

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-28834

Document type:: Monograph

Author:: Laveleye, Émile de

Title:: The Socialism of to-day

Place of publication:: London

Publisher:: Field & Tuer

Year of publication:: 1884

Scope:: 1 Online-Ressource (XLIV, 331 S.)

Collection:: Economics Books

Usage license:: Get license information via the feedback formular.

Aví/?Z MARX. 27 then, that all wages are in exact proportion to the value of the work done. But this is precisely what Marx disputes. From these premises, our author concludes that labour becomes more productive and creates more utilities all to no purpose, it does not produce more values. In fact, if labour measured by time is the sole source of value, articles manufac tured in greater quantity in the same lapse of time, all put together, represent no more value, because each individual article is worth less. By the strictly logical chain of these abstractions we arrive at this singular result, that all the inven tions of science, all the improvements of manufacture, produce more utilities, without increasing the sum total of values. Bastiat had expressed a similar idea. Let us now see how capital arises. According to Marx, it is by no means from thrift or abstinence, as “the common Political Economy ” asserts. Nor is it any more from exchange, as idle people, seeing how merchants make rapid fortunes, are apt to imagine. In fact, exchange is normally made on the footing of equality, values against values ; and if by artifice or skill Paul sells to Peter for a commodity worth only ^^4, Paul, it is true, gains but as Peter loses it, the community is none the richer, no new value is created, no new capital formed. This opinion, developed with great precision by J. B. Say, is held by the greater number of Economists. Never theless, in my opinion, it is not well founded. Condillac was right when he asserted that in every exchange both parties gain, because each obtains the object which suits him best.* A lady, he says, sells some acres of land in order to purchase a cashmere shawl, and is astonished at obtaining such a magni ficent article in exchange for such an ugly piece of meadow. Each party gets what he wants, and is thus better satisfied. Marx and J. B. Say look only at the value in exchange, which, perhaps, does not increase in the act of exchange, though an object, on the approach of those who have need of * See “ Commerce et le gouvernement^' by Condillac, Guillaumin’s edi tion, p. 267. This little work, like the majority of those of the eighteenth century, contains many just remarks, expressed with great clearness and intelligence.

Access restriction

Copyright

fullscreen: The Socialism of to-day

Monograph

Table of contents

Download

Monograph

This page

Image fragment

Citation links

Citation recommendation