Anti-Duhring, Part II, Political Economy. V – Theory of Value - Part 17 of 28

The idea that these profits are something added on to the actual value of the commodity, either singly or in aggregate, is, on the one hand, an abandonment of The Labour Theory of Value, and Marx's explanation of the transformation of values in to prices of production, and, on the other hand, a reversion back to the old mercantilist theories, based on “profit on alienation”, described by Marx, in Theories of Surplus Value, in relation to Steuart.

“Now if, all commodities have such a monopoly price in accordance with this theory of value, only two alternatives are possible. Either each individual loses again as a buyer what he has gained as a seller; the prices have changed nominally but in reality—in their reciprocal relationship—have remained the same; everything remains as before, and the far-famed distribution value is a mere illusion.” (p 242)

Some years ago, I pointed this out, in an online debate with a proponent of Austrian School economics, who, having failed to explain the existence of profit, also, fell back on this mercantilist theory. “Congratulations!”, I told them, “you have created inflation, but changed the real proportional relations between the commodities, their exchange-values, not one jot.”

In other words, as I set out earlier, if the value of commodity A is 10 hours labour and that of B also 10 hours labour, 1 unit of A is equal to 1 unit of B. They exchange on a 1:1 basis. If you try to explain profit by saying that the producer of A sells it for the equivalent of 12 hours labour, giving them 20% profit, its necessary to assume that the producer of B, also, sells it at the equivalent of 12 hours labour, giving them a 20% profit. But, then, 1 unit of A still exchanges for 1 unit of B and nothing changes, other than the price tag on both has been inflated by 20%. The 20% “profit” of both disappears. And, if A tries to remedy this by trying to sell at 15 hours, B will do the same, and all that results is a spiral upwards of these prices, with still no change in the values of the commodities and no actual profit created.

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