A Marxian Alternative to the Traditional "Transformation Problem"

Abstract

This paper offers a unique Marxian formulation of the transformation of values in prices of production. This formulation-based upon a specific reading of Marx's economics not previously applied to the "transformation problem"-permits a radically new conception and solution to that problem. The authors underscore the theoretical distance separating this Marxian formulation not only from the generally Ricardian framework of the debates over value-price transformation, but also from certain other Marxian critiques of that framework. This intervention in the transformation debates is shown to be closely linked to and warranted by a specific view of the basic differences between Marxian and classical economic theories.