An examination of the doctrines of value; as set forth by Adam Smith, Ricardo, McCulloch - Softcover
Synopsis
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1831 Excerpt: ...quatities of labour which have been bestowed on those other things, will equally govern the portion of them, which will be given for the stockings." In the first section it has been stated that quantity of labour would not determine value in the early stages of society that precede the accumulation of capital, in consequence of variations in the productiveness of labour, and this was equally applied when capital was accumulated. It, however, applies with greater force, if the proportion of fixed and circulating capital be different; because this circumstance introduces another objection beside the greater one just mentioned. But Mr. Ricardo assumes the fixed and circulating capital to be equal, and therefore that the value of stockings, or any other commodity, is exactly determined by the aggregate sums of labour employed in their production. The value of any commodity, however, could not obviously be determined by the sum of its producing labour in consequence of changes in the productiveness of labour; and yet he is particularly explicit in this as in the preceding section, for at p. 24 he further remarks, "Fish then would rise or fall in exchangeable value, only because more or less lsbour was required to obtain a given quantity; and it never could rise or fall beyond the proportion of the increased or diminished quantity of labour required." And then after noticing that commodities produced under the same circumstances were limited in value by the quantity of labour required to produce them, he remarks, that "unless more labour were required for their production, they could not rise in any degree whatever." But if fish were produced by the same quantity of labour, and all other things required more or less labour to produce them...
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