Concluding Remarks

Abstract

The preceding study has sought to show that Marx’s economic analysis of capitalism contains an intelligible and coherent theory of price which is distinct from that of Ricardo and has not been made redundant by the work of Sraffa. The interpretation of Marx’s theory of price provided in this study is very different from most modern sympathetic interpretations of this theory and could, in certain respects, be said to revert to more traditional interpretations. It offers what may be described as a physical cost interpretation of Marx’s theory of price, including a physical cost explanation of commodity inputs, wages and profit. This contrasts with the other interpretations discussed above, that attribute to Marx a neo- Ricardian (Sraffian) explanation, with price being in effect explained by price — the prices of both commodity inputs and commodities comprising wages and profits, albeit denominated in terms of labour time.