[lbo-talk] Open Letter from a Keynesian to a Marxist by Joan Robinson

[Carrol Cox]

"Intertwined" is somewhat mealy-mouth.  Power determines the wage level. 
Power is affected by many factors, among which is the demand for labor. 
Weak demand _tends_ to  reduce the power of labor, but only tends to. 
There is no reason _in principle_ that labor should not (under various 
conditions) force high wages even though demand were weak. And even if 
demand is strong that doe snot by itself give labor more power: power 
must always be fought for.

I'm not actually arguing with Marv here, but I think the 'nuances' I ad 
are in some discussions or some situations of great improtance.

Carrol

On 7/19/2011 3:38 PM, Marv Gandall wrote:
>
> On 2011-07-19, at 10:52 AM, Michael Pollak wrote:
>
>> One of Michael Perelman's best passages IMHO is his "Appendix on Prices," pp. 62-65 of his first book _Farming For Profit In A Hungry World_ where he sums up the point of Sraffa in 3 pages and presents it as something that would interest you: that prices don't measure scarcity.  (And instead measure "what Marx termed 'the respective powers of the combatants.'")
>
> In the labour market, the price of labour reflects both supply and demand and "the respective powers of the combatants". The two factors are intertwined; the former affects the latter. When there is a demand for labour, when it is more difficult for employers to recruit and retain workers, the bargaining power of workers is strengthened, and the price of their labour-power rises. At times or in industries where there is little demand for their labour, the opposite holds true.
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