Towards a Political Economy of the Hunters and Gatherers: A Study in Historical Materialism

Hagendorf, Klaus (2009): Towards a Political Economy of the Hunters and Gatherers: A Study in Historical Materialism.

Abstract

This paper uses the mode of production of the hunter-gatherers as a background to explain basic economic concepts, in particular the meaning of the labour theory of value and it's relationship to optimization of resources. A proof of the marginal value theorem is presented. A new term is introduced to designate labour surplus value, roundabout labour. The analytical expression for socially necessary labour is derived and Adam Smith's paradox between labour value and the adding-up theorem of wages, rent and profit, is resolved. It is shown that far from being limited to the ancient form of society of the hunter-gatherers the labour theory of value holds also in modern times.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: historical materialism; labour theory of value; Marxian economics; roundabout labour; Adam Smith; surplus labour; hunter-gatherer society; marginal value theorem; evolutionary ecology; modes of production; productive forces
• Subjects: D - Microeconomics > D4 - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design > D46 - Value Theory; B - History of Economic Thought, Methodology, and Heterodox Approaches > B5 - Current Heterodox Approaches > B51 - Socialist ; Marxian ; Sraffian; B - History of Economic Thought, Methodology, and Heterodox Approaches > B1 - History of Economic Thought through 1925 > B14 - Socialist ; Marxist; Z - Other Special Topics > Z1 - Cultural Economics ; Economic Sociology ; Economic Anthropology > Z10 - General; D - Microeconomics > D2 - Production and Organizations > D20 - General; D - Microeconomics > D2 - Production and Organizations > D24 - Production ; Cost ; Capital ; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity ; Capacity; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q5 - Environmental Economics > Q57 - Ecological Economics: Ecosystem Services ; Biodiversity Conservation ; Bioeconomics ; Industrial Ecology

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