| This question <259|155> overall <150|152> Picard: <1868|522>. content A form 90% |
| Question 90: How is the value of raw materials determined in Marx's theory? How does the scarcity of these materials influence their value? Is Marx's argument still valid in the case of an exhaustible resource, which is present only in finite supply? |
| [151] Picard: In Marx's theory the value of raw materials is determined by how difficult it is to extract it from the earth, in other words what quantity of labor is required to mine it. Concerning the effects of scarcity of materials on value Marx writes: when a material is rare it takes more labor to find it and extract it. So scarcity and value are related in this way: a rare material will need more labor to mine it and thus be more valuable. |
| I believe that if the material was only in a finite supply and could be exhausted, the above theory would not be valid, it would hold only a very small part of the equation. Take for example oil. It seems, by the amount of profit made by oil companies (easily in the billions for the large ones), that it is above its value as determined by scarcity and quantity of labor. I would conclude from this that other determinants of value take priority in exhaustible materials, perhaps those would include society's need and/or dependence on it. |
| Hans: Good thinking, but some of your original grammar was pretty impossible. I edited it to make it smoother reading. Please compare with your original at http://marx.econ.utah.edu/pipermail/econ-5080/Week-of-Mon-20050912/000124.html. It seems you would just need a little coaching and practice; you would probably benefit a lot from Jane Laird's Econ 3905, see http://marx.econ.utah.edu/pipermail/econ-5080/Week-of-Mon-20050829/000039.html. |
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