Marx's Theory of Value, Exchange and Surplus Value: A Suggested Reformulation.

This paper attempts to evaluate the consistency of the theoretical propositions inherent in the main concepts of Marx's theory of exchange and surplus-value. The principal contention is that an internal criticism of Marx's theory leads one to restate it in a different framework. This framework, which may be called the "monetary approach," represents an alternative to the theory of value. Marx did not succeed in deriving the concept of money from that of commodity. As a consequence, money has to be presupposed at the very outset, departing from the typical abstraction of the theory of value. The paper points out the logical inconsistencies which make the theory of surplus-value unsuitable for its intended purpose. A reformulation is suggested in which the monetary character of economic relations is again central. Copyright 1991 by Oxford University Press.