I agree with quite a lot of what you are saying Jim ________________________________________ Paul > The currency has no price, but is the measure of price, the problem is to > explain how a standard of price and measure of value which itself has no > value can operate as a social form.< Jim Currency has a price: to me its price refers to the amount of goods and services that are necessary to buy a unit of currency. That's nothing but the inverse of the average price level. Alternatively, one could talk about the value of currency (how much socially-necessary abstract labor-time is required to make a unit of currency) or its exchange-value (how much socially-necessary abstract labor-time a unit of currency can command). With fiat money -- maintained by state power -- the exchange-value of currency exceeds its value. ================= Paul Yes money has an exchange value, but it does not have a price, it is what gives everything else a price.
Jim For other prices, it's not currency that is used as a measure but rather the units of the currency (US$, British pounds, etc.) How can a standard of price operate as a social form? for fiat money, it's state power which allows it to do so. Currency is not a measure of value. Instead, it's hours of socially-necessary abstract labor time which measure value. -- ============== You are correct that it is the unit of currency that is the measure, I gave the Krona as an example of such a unit. I agree that for fiat money state power is what allows it to operate as a social form. My original question was, given that it is the power of the crown upon which the Krona is based, what determines its value is it the quantity of labour that the King commands or the quantity of labour power he purchases. Ie, if the Crown spends Krona 1 million employing teachers etc, is the value of the Krona the number of hours the teachers etc work for this 1 million Krona, or is it the number of hours embodied in the wage goods the teachers consume? If the Swedish economy were fully socialised and the state maintained labour accounts, then value could be measured in hours of labour, but given that it is only partially socialised, and that there is a large private sector dependent on commodity exchange the measure is indirect via an exchangeable currency. Now in principle, the state could denominate its notes in hours, basing them on the number of hours work actually done by public employees. This would as Engels said amount to socialist propaganda within the remaining capitalist sector since it would unmask the relation of exploitation on which that sector rested. As such it could constitute a transitional step to a fully socialised economy. The University of Glasgow, charity number SC004401 _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
