Value and Distribution: An Historical, Critical (Classic Reprint)

Charles William Macfarlane

ISBN 10: 1330405005 / ISBN 13: 9781330405000

Published by Forgotten Books, 2018

About this Item

Print on Demand. This book initiates a new approach to deriving the principles of distribution from the phenomena of value and price. Some of this work has been incorporated into the publications of the Austrian school of economists, yet, much of it is scattered through journals. Seeking to gather these works into one publication, the author also presents original concepts that modify the hitherto accepted view of value and distribution. The book argues that the value of a good is not determined by the amount of socially necessary labor contained in it but rather by its marginal utility and the marginal disutility of its production. There is a shift from earlier ideas in regard to interest, with the author positing that it is not a return for the use of wealth but is instead the result of a discrepancy between the rate at which people prefer present goods to future goods and the rate at which goods can be produced. Ultimately, this book demonstrates the possibility of a reintegration of theory and phenomena in economic analysis and the promise of a more coherent explanation of the forces that determine economic behavior. This book is a reproduction of an important historical work, digitally reconstructed using state-of-the-art technology to preserve the original format. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in the book.

Seller Inventory # 9781330405000_0

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Value and Distribution: An Historical, Critical (Classic Reprint)
• Publisher: Forgotten Books
• Publication Date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1330405005
• ISBN 13: 9781330405000
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: New
• Book Type: print-on-demand item
• Seller catalogs:
  • Economics

About this title

Synopsis

A deep, historical critique of how value is created and distributed in capitalist economies. This work revisits long‑standing theories and offers a constructive approach for advanced study.

The text explores how surplus is generated and divided among four factors—land, labor, capital, and entrepreneur—and how three forms of surplus—rent, profit, and the normal gains of capital and labor—shape economic outcomes. It also examines the role of time in production and the way ordinary theories handle the exchange between present and future goods. Readers will encounter comparisons of different viewpoints, including critiques of earlier productivity theories and a framework for understanding wages and interest that fits a progressing society.

What you’ll experience
- A clear, century‑spanning discussion of surplus and how it arises across production, distribution, and time.
- A detailed look at the Normal Value Theory of Interest and the Normal Value Theory of Wages.
- Connections between orthodox economics, historical critiques, and constructive proposals for teaching advanced students.

Ideal for readers of graduate economics, history of economic thought, and those studying value and distribution in depth.