Value-form and Class Struggle: A Critique of the Autonomist Theory of Value

AXEL KICILLOF & GUIDO STAROSTA

Capital and Class

Sage

Año: 2007 p. 1 - 31

This paper develops a critique of the ´class struggle´ theory of value that emerged out of the autonomist Marxist tradition, arguing that although this theory has the merit of putting forward a production-centred, value-form approach, it eventually fails to grasp the determinations of value-producing labour. In particular, the notion of value as a mode of existence of the class struggle inverts the real relation between them and, more importantly, deprives the latter of both its historical specificity and the social and material basis of its transformative powers. This paper examines the political implications of these theoretical issues in value theory.