Value-form

Abstract: Preface and Acknowledgements. General Introduction. Part I. On Marxist Theories of Law, the State, and their Relative Autonomy from the Capitalist Economy and Class Struggles:. 1. Recent Theories of the Capitalist State. 2. Recent Theories of Law, the State, and Juridico-Political Ideology. 3. Marxism, Economic Determinism, and Relative Autonomy. Part II. Political Representation, Social Bases, and State Forms: Corporatism, Parliamentarism, and the National Interest:. 4. Corporatism, Parliamentarism, and Social Democracy. 5. Capitalist States, Capitalist Interests, and the Rule of Capital. 6. The Democratic State and the National Interest. Part III. The Value Form, The Capitalist State, and Hegemonic Projects: From State Forms and Functions to the State as Strategy:. 7. Accumulation Strategies, State Forms, and Hegemonic Projects. 8. Poulantzas and Foucault on Power and Strategy. 9. The State as Strategy. Part IV. Putting States in their Place: Towards a Strategic-Relational Theory of Societalization:. 10. Anti-Marxist Reinstatement and Post-Marxist Deconstruction. 11. Societalization, Regulation, and Self-Reference. 12. Putting States in their Place. Selected Writings of Bob Jessop. General Bibliography. Index.

Abstract: Despite the burgeoning literature on the state in capitalist societies, we are still ill-equipped to deal with some fundamental theoretical problems The search for solutions has often led Marxists quite properly to draw on non-Marxist concepts and approaches but this sometimes involves the risk of dissolving a distinctively Marxist analysis into a broadly pluralistic, eclectic account of the state1 Among the more problematic issues in the field of state theory are the alleged ‘relative autonomy’ of the state, the sources of the class unity of state power, the periodisation of the state, its social bases, the precise nature of hegemony and its articulation with coercion, and the role of the nation-state in the changing world system No doubt a much longer list could be compiled But these issues alone are more than enough to occupy us in the present paper I approach them through the more general topic of form analysis and its implications for the economic and political spheres of capitalist society In particular I will argue that the value form and state form are indeterminate and must be complemented by strategies that impart some substantive coherence to what would otherwise remain formal unities It is in this context that I will elaborate the concepts of ‘accumulation strategy’ and ‘hegemonic project’2 Let us begin with the fundamental concept of any serious Marxist economic analysis by considering the implications of the value form

Abstract: Value can appear so complicated that it is not only a terribly intimidating topic, but actually fruitless to pursue. That is, the concept of value is either a dead end or best left to the experts. We disagree. At the most general level, having value can be understood as having the capacity to be measured and compared against another thing (or a standard). This is consistent with Marxian concepts (which are elaborated with special reference to the capitalist value form), but it is also simple and general enough to provide a transportable frame for discussing the role of value and measurement in any context imaginable, whether it be a discussion of spiritualism, collective action, economic data, or physical science. Marx directs our attention to the political constitution of systems of measure on the very first page of Capital, and there is now a great deal of work in geography and in science and technology studies on the social constitution of systems of valuation. We believe a crucial topic deserv...

Abstract: 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.