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International Working Group on Value Theory
CALL FOR PAPERS
Year 2000 Value Theory Mini-Conference
Crystal City Hyatt Regency, March 24th- March 26th 2000 =============================================================================
Apologies for any cross-posting
We invite you to the seventh "New Directions in Value/Price Theory" mini-conference, organized by the International Working Group on Value Theory (IWGVT), to be held as part of the Eastern Economic Association (EEA) conference. Papers relating to the IWGVT's areas of interest are welcome and proposals for complete panels will be considered.
The full call, and instructions for submission, are on our website at
www.greenwich.ac.uk/~fa03/iwgvt.
We can be contacted at
Value.Theory at greenwich.ac.uk
for information or informal discussion.
Abstracts of individual papers or proposals for complete sessions are welcome from May 1st onwards. Proposals for complete sessions should be made by August 1st 1999.
The deadline for papers and accompanying material is November 1, 1999. Papers must be complete when submitted but may consists of drafts or work in progress. Although this may seem stringent, our experience in 1999 was that it greatly facilitated dialogue by making the papers available to participants in advance of the conference, and also provided an opportunity for discussants to prepare considered responses. Authors are welcome to submit papers in their mother tongue. Completed papers need not be long papers, and, again, we strongly encourage papers which revisit contributions made at past mini-conferences, other conferences, or previously published work.
The IWGVT actively pursues collaboration and engagement with other currents of economic thought, and welcomes proposals for joint sessions at the upcoming EEA.
What is the IWGVT? ==================
The IWGVT aims to promote pluralistic debate on concepts of value, seeking particularly-but not exclusively-to deepen the discussion of value concepts appropriate to dynamic analysis, and to end the unacceptable exclusion of the value theory of Karl Marx from existing debates.
The principal justification which economics offers for excluding its foremost critic is the proposition that, whatever the merits of his contribution on individual issues, his concept of value is invalid because it leads to internal inconsistencies. A growing body of independent research shows that this argument is no longer sustainable. We conclude that the discussion on value should re-open without the presupposition of any established standard, tradition or source of authority regarding either value or Marx.
The IWGVT defends no particular theory of value beyond arguing that the concept itself is indispensable. It does believe it is possible to assess the merits of contesting theories in debate. It seeks to create an atmosphere for this debate-which does not at present exist-such that all value theories, and all readings of value theorists, may discuss on an equal footing, referring in their support neither to the evidence of authority nor the conviction of doctrine but to reasoned and logical discussion based on textual evidence for readings and factual evidence for theories.
Six successive mini-conferences have provided a widespread, gratifying and international response to our initial appeal. The number of panels and panelists has grown steadily, as has participation from those outside the United States.
The IWGVT is beginning to be recognized as a forum for all those interested in the discussion of value, irrespective of theoretical orientation.