Bibliography: Bibliographical Introduction To The Problem Of Transformation

Abstract

The recent controversy over the theory of capital and distribution, the discussions on Sraffa and the revival of studies on Marx's work that appeared in the 50's and especially in recent years have brought again closer to the table some old issues of Political Economy. Among them, the relationship between the theory of value and the theory of distribution. This question, as is known, can be traced back very far. To not go so far, remember that in Ricardo's work can be found clearly stated this issue. The unfinished quest for an invariable standard of value is linked precisely with the contradictory effects that a change in wages or benefits had on costs and prices, effects that were due – as perceived by Ricardo - to the different proportions of capital and work required by each industry. Much later, Sraffa thought he had found the underlying principle used for his own theoretical construction. That principle would allow to calculate the rate of profit (and hence income distribution) regardless of prices, as Ricardo himself suggests in a letter to Malthus dated in 1820