Bhagirath Baria

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The Author of this blog has keen interest in understanding Economics and its implications on the Individual and the Economy as a whole. Has been writing articles and analysis of issues that may skip general observation, but exert deep influence on people's lives and their decisions. Discussions and Debates related to conventional as well as non-conventional Economics is done here. The author of this blog doesn't classify himself to any particular School of thought in Economics. He is tilted toward Mainstream Economics, though has keen interest in a few Heterodox schools too. Wishing all the readers a truly enriching experience.

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Rath & Economics by Bhagirath Baria is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.5 India License.
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Tuesday, August 06, 2013

Bajaj Chakan plant strike and Theory of Value

Recent strike at Bajaj's Auto plant at Chakan brings out the need to understand such issues through the concept of Value, distinct from that of Price. Students of Mainstream neo-classical microeconomics would not make a distinction between Value and Price. Both are used interchangeably and more often than not in very casual sense. Yet, it is possible to understand this issue through the Labour Theory of Value of Classical Economists in general and Marx's Labour Theory of value in particular.

Marx's Theory of Value has the Theory of Commodity fetishism as its foundation, without the grasp of which Marx's analysis cannot be grasped. It is very much possible to apply the Marxist LTV[Labour Theory of Value] to Bajaj Auto plant strike, which can open up newer vistas of understanding Capital-Labour relations, not as Technical means of production but as Social Production relations specific to the currently prevailing Economy: Commodity-capitalist economy.

Marx's LTV is mostly perceived as a tailor-made radical tool of revealing the inner contradictions of Capitalism. Yet, the theory is perceived in a mechanistic way, addressing the question "What is Value?" in a simplistic manner. The foundation of the theory of Commodity fetishism is generally put aside or appealed to when explaining the surface appearances of a Capitalist society.

The next post will examine How can Marxist Value theory help to understand such events as also the ways in which it can be deployed to analyze such contradictions of everyday life in Capitalism.

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