The Concept of Labour Power and the Critique of Political Economy

Marx in two decades of economic studies (1847-1865)

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33228/scribes.2021.v2.11948

Abstract

Marx’s critique of political economy has developed and modified itself as the time went by. This was due as much as to theoretical factors as the political ones. A key aspect over which those changes processed involves the debates around the concepts labour and labour power. The former political economy has tried to deal with this topic, but its insufficient development has not yielded it to understand the relationship between value, originated from labour, with the capital accumulation processes. Marx was able to connect those two dimensions through the differentiation, progressively clearer, between labour and labour power. Thus, Marx showed that capital accumulation can occur even within an equivalent exchanges’ regime, because this distinction allows him to demonstrate his major theoretical contribution: the theory of surplus-value. This work aims to portray the transformations in the dealing with those concepts within the author’s trajectory between 1847 and 1865.

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Author Biography

Elton Rosa, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais

Elton Rosa is a PhD candidate in Economics at the Centre for Development and Regional Planning (CEDEPLAR) of the Federal University of Minas Gerais (Brazil). He has a Master Degree in Public Management at the Institute for Applied Social Sciences of the Federal University of Alfenas (Brazil). He has publications on Political Economy and Economic History.

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Published

2021-09-23

How to Cite

Wellen, H., & Rosa, E. (2021). The Concept of Labour Power and the Critique of Political Economy: Marx in two decades of economic studies (1847-1865). SCRIBES - Brazilian Journal of Management and Secretarial Studies, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.33228/scribes.2021.v2.11948

Issue

Vol. 2 No. 1 (2021): Dossiê Temático: As transformações no mundo do trabalho

Section

Special dossier

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