A General Theory of Exploitation and Class

John E. Roemer

Published by Harvard University Press 1982

A General Theory of Exploitation and Class

John E. Roemer

https://doi.org/10.4159/harvard.9780674435865

Overview
Contents

Author / Editor information

Roemer John E. :

John Roemer is Elizabeth S. and A. Varick Stout Professor of Political Science and Economics, Yale University.

Reviews

Roemer's is a major contribution to Marxian economic theory. It presents an analysis that is at once classical and modern, answering both old questions and new ones. It is delightfully controversial and deeply innovative.

There is no doubt that Roemer has produced an excellent book. His central question is whether classical Marxism has prepared us to expect what we see in existing socialist countries. Roemer believes not, and 'the consequence is a theoretical disarray of modern Marxism in attempting to explain the laws of motion of socialism.' The book is divided into three parts that deal respectively with exploitation and class in subsistence economies, accumulating economies, and socialist economies. Building on elegant and beautifully precise models of exploitation and class, the author integrates notions of class and status, socialist exploitation, and notions of justice to analyze the abstract workings of socialism...Highly recommended.

A landmark in the development of economic theory...[This book] takes a long, hard look at some classical concepts in Marxism and, in doing so, transforms them completely...[Roemer] uses the analytical tools of neo-classical economics to undermine its normative and sociological assumptions. Instead of firms and households, Roemer offers us classes; instead of the `social welfare function' he proposes exploitation as the criterion of justice. His book, in my opinion, is a step towards realism without loss of vigour.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Preface Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	vii
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	xi
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Part I. Exploitation and Class in Subsistence Economies
1. Exploitation in a Precapitalist Subsistence Economy Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	25
2. The Labor Market and the Emergence of Class Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	61
3. The Functional Equivalence of Labor and Credit Markets Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	87
Part II. Exploitation and Class in an Accumulating Economy
4. The Class Exploitation Correspondence Principle Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	107
5. The Dependence of Labor Value on the Market Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	147
6. Marxian Exploitation and Heterogeneous Labor Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	174
Part III. Exploitation, Socialism, and Historical Materialism
7. A General Definition and Taxonomy of Exploitation Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	189
8. Exploitation in Existing Socialism Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	238
9. Links with Historical Materialism Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	264
References Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	291
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	295

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Edition: Reprint 2014
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Front matter: 13
- Main content: 298
Illustrations
- Other: 9 line illustrations
Keywords: POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Ideologies / Communism, Post-Communism & Socialism; BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Economics / Theory; Social classes.; Marxian economics.; Historical materialism.

eBook

Published: October 1, 2013
ISBN: 9780674435865

Hardcover

Published: February 5, 1982
ISBN: 9780674435858