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Abstract

Vol. 52, No. 3, pp. 253-268 (2001)

“Marxian Exploitation Theory Revisited”
Naoki Yoshihara (The Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University)

We examine implications of the Marxian exploitation theory by focusing on the development of mathematical Marxian economics in 1970s. Particularly, we check implications of the fundamental Marxian theorem, the Morishima-seton equation, the Marxian transformation theorem, and the law of value, so that we conclude that the classical Marxian arguments on the labor theory of value and the labor exploitation cannot be supported even by these theoretical analyses. Moreover, we argue that under private ownership, the acquisition of the profit by the capitalist class can be justified if the profitable capital goods are scarce to employ all the workers in the society.