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Rethinking Marx's Value-Form Analysis from an Althusserian Perspective

2009; Routledge; Volume: 21; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/08935690902743518

1475-8059

John Milios,

Political theory and Gramsci

Abstract This article explores Louis Althusser's position that Marx's value theory constitutes a radical break from the classical (Ricardian) notion of value, conceiving value not as a quantity of labor contained in the commodity but as a social relation expressing the immanent regularities of the capitalist mode of production. Nevertheless, Althusser did not fully recognize that the Marxian break with political economy was centered above all in the value-form analysis he developed in part 1 of volume 1 of Capital. This oversight in turn hindered Althusser from appreciating the full extent of Marx's theoretical ambivalence in his mature writings and, more specifically, in volume 3 of Capital. Keywords: Louis AlthusserKarl MarxValue FormValue Theory Acknowledgements A first version of this paper, entitled "Capital after Louis Althusser: Focusing on Value-Form Analysis," was presented at the conference, Rileggere Il Capitale: La lezione di Louis Althusser, organized by the Department of Historical Studies of the University Ca' Foscari, held 9–11 November 2006 in Venice, Italy. I am deeply indebted to David F. Ruccio, editor of Rethinking Marxism, and the two readers, Ceren Özselçuk and Rob Garnett, for their useful comments that have helped me to partially to reformulate this paper and significantly improve its quality.