[lbo-talk] The State and Capitalism

Lew wsm_mod at yahoo.co.uk
Tue Mar 11 13:18:56 PDT 2008


Charles Brown wrote:


> CB: Yea, but the debate here is whether in the first phase there is
> still "to each according to work", which would seem to imply that Marx
> thought there would still be something like money in the _transitional_
> or first phase of communism . Since Marx said use-values would be
> distributed according to work in the first phase of communism , that
> seems to indicate that there would still be money in the first phase;
> and the passage you quote refers to the second phase of communism.

The phrase "to each according to work" is not Marx's. He did suggest labour vouchers, similar to those advocated by Robert Owen, but he was clear that these would not function as money:

"Owen’s 'labour-money', for instance, is no more 'money' than a ticket for the theatre. Owen presupposes directly associated labour, a form of production that is entirely inconsistent with the production of commodities. The certificate of labour is merely evidence of the part taken by the individual in the common labour, and of his right to a certain portion of the common produce destined for consumption." (Capital, Vol. 1).

"These producers may... receive paper vouchers entitling them to withdraw from the social supplies of consumer goods a quantity corresponding to their labour-time. These vouchers are not money. They do not circulate." (Capital, Vol. 2).

-- Lew



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