Marx As Well As The Physiocrats

An before ship highlighted an interesting slice of Marx scholarship yesteryear Regina Roth, included inwards a Routledge collection of of i...

An before ship highlighted an interesting slice of Marx scholarship yesteryear Regina Roth, included inwards a Routledge collection of of import articles on the history of political economic scheme (link). Another article that is of special involvement inwards the Routledge collection is "Karl Marx on physiocracy" yesteryear Christian Gehrke in addition to Heinz Kurz (link). The illustrations reproduced inwards a higher house are taken from this article. The starting fourth dimension is a diagram, inwards Marx's ain hand, of the procedure of uncomplicated reproduction developed inwards particular inwards Capital. The minute is Marx's pairing of this same diagram with Quesnay's Tableau economique, suggesting Marx's indebtedness to Quesnay in addition to the physiocrats.

Gehrke in addition to Kurz supply a highly detailed survey of the times in addition to sources through which Marx studied the physiocrats, in addition to the comments in addition to questions that he raised inwards his working notebooks. They introduce the results of this analysis inwards 2 useful appendices to the article. In the primary text they focus on the most of import question: to what extent, in addition to inwards what specific ways, was Marx influenced yesteryear the physiocrats' system?

They observe 2 crucial parallels betwixt Marx in addition to the physiocrats: first, both introduce a thought of a capitalist economic scheme that originates inwards a theory of surplus value; in addition to second, each presents a thought of the economic scheme inwards terms of a menses of value through diverse sets of hands. The tableau stand upward for this menses visually in addition to arithmetically, in addition to Marx's schemes of uncomplicated reproduction do in addition to so algebraically.

The foundation of modern political economy, whose line of piece of job organisation is the analysis of capitalist production, is the excogitation of the value of labour-power equally something fixed, equally a given magnitude -- equally indeed it is inwards practise inwards each particular case. The minimum of reward thus correctly forms the pivotal signal of Physiocratic theory. They were able to constitute this although they had non withal recognised the nature of value itself, because this value of labour-power is manifested inwards the cost of the necessary agency of subsistence, hence inwards a total of definite use-values. (TSV 1:45)

And inwards fact, the authors hollo back this is key for Marx's advocacy for the task theory of value:

To Marx the labour theory of value was non key inwards the feel that it was considered 'true' independently of whether it served the purpose of providing a logically coherent foundation of the theory of income distribution. Marx endorsed the labour theory of value exactly because last was convinced that it would offering that foundation, that is, let 1 to elaborate a logically unassailable theory of the full general charge per unit of measurement of profit. He held the physiocrats inwards high esteem likewise because it was around other achievement of theirs which he thought had paved the way to the evolution of such a theory. The achievement nether consideration is the Tableau economique. (62)

What defines the physiocrats for most of us -- their thought that the nation is the ultimate source of all value -- is for Marx just a youngster mistake of analysis on their part, non a key misconception. Gehrke in addition to Kurz write inwards paraphrasing Marx:

Scrutinizing carefully the texts of Quesnay, Mirabeau in addition to especially Turgot shows that whatever surplus production is in conclusion to last traced dorsum to agricultural surplus labour, that is, it has its source non inwards the productivity of land, or nature, but inwards the 'productivity' of the agricultural labourer who produces to a greater extent than than he gets inwards the shape of wages. (60)

Here is the thrust of the minute point, the key similarity of the tableau economique in addition to Marx's schemes of reproduction:

Quesnay's Tableau economique shows inwards a few wide outlines how the annual effect of the nation production, representing a definite value, is distributed yesteryear agency of circulation inwards such a way that, other things beingness equal, uncomplicated reproduction, i.e., reproduction on the same scale, tin possess got place' (C 11: 363). Marx credits Quesnay with developing the Tableau inwards terms of 'great functionally determined economical classes of society' in addition to with hitting upon 'the master copy thing, thank y'all to the limitation of his horizon, inside which agriculture is the only sphere of investment of human labour producing surplus-value, hence the only actually productive 1 from the capitalist signal of view.' (63)

What isn't solely clear is the authors' analysis of influence in addition to lineage of ideas. Did Marx's ain thinking almost surplus value in addition to reproduction derive inwards around way from the doctrines of the physiocrats? Or did he but banknote a pleasing convergence betwixt his ain thinking in addition to that of the earliest tradition of classical PE? The authors advise that the erstwhile is the case:

We possess got seen how much Marx owed the physiocrats for the evolution of his ain views on the laws of production, distribution in addition to circulation governing a capitalist economy. This is the deeper ground why Marx spoke in addition to so respectfully of Dr Quesnay in addition to the physiocrats. After all, les economistes were alongside the truthful forerunners of his ain analysis which was inwards of import respects but a metamorphosis in addition to evolution of theirs. He appears to possess got been especially fascinated yesteryear the fact that inwards the physiocratic system, equally he saw it, the theory of quantities in addition to increment in addition to the theory of prices in addition to distribution do possess got a mutual source inwards the concepts of social surplus in addition to production equally a circular flow. Marx tin indeed last said to possess got seen through the lens of the physiocratic writings the essence of the duality human relationship betwixt the 2 sets of variables emphasized yesteryear afterwards theorists in addition to especially yesteryear John von Neumann . Hence it may last argued that at that spot exists a at 1 time lineage from physiocracy to modern formulations of the classical theory. (73)

But their ain chronology suggests Marx had arrived at many of his key economical ideas before he carefully analyzed the physiocrats.

It is worth noting that the availability of digital versions of Marx's manuscripts makes enquiry on questions similar this 1 immensely to a greater extent than efficient than it was inwards the 1990s when Gehrke in addition to Kurz did their work. The online Archive of Marx in addition to Engels provides digital access to many of Marx's most of import industrial plant (though non unpublished manuscripts), in addition to it is possible for anyone interested inwards the role that a sure as shooting writer or number played inwards Marx's thought to describe it chop-chop using the search functions available. For example, a quick search shows that at that spot are 10 mentions of "physiocrat" or derivatives inwards the Economic in addition to Philosophic Manuscripts (1844). And at that spot are hundreds of such mentions inwards Theories of Surplus Value.