Marx’s theory of value for socialism

Abstract

Possibilities of socialism are coming back globally through multiple crises in capitalist market economies. This paper reexamines how Marx’s theory of value can be utilized as a theoretical foundation for socialism in our age. Especially Marx’s original theory of forms and substance of value enables us to conceive various models of market socialism as well as democratic planned economy. Functions of socialist forms of money (s-money) and prices (s-prices) are further to be reconsidered, including a critical review of these forms in the Soviet model. Marx’s theory of complex labor needs also to be reexamined anew as a theoretical basis of sounder socialism.

Acknowledgements

This paper is originally prepared for a Conference on Karl Marx and Capital in India to be held at Kerala in September 2018, which was unfortunately canceled due to a disastrous flood. I would like to state my gratitude to the organizers of the conference, especially to Professor C.P. Chandrasekhar, who generously invited me there to present this paper. I am also grateful for Professor Ken Kawashima at the University of Toronto who kindly edited this paper.