Marx's Wage Theory in Historical Perspective: Its Origins, Development, and Interpretation

To fully grasp Marx's theory of the labor movement, Lapides supplies a deeper insight into the economic analysis underlying it. This book presents Marx's theory of wages and wage labor, previously scattered throughout his writings, in its entirety for the first time. The author places the theory in its historical context, locating the sources of Marx's wage theory, its intellectual antecedents, and the roots of later controversies, but the primary focus of the work is the actual development of Marx's theory in the words in which he expressed it. In order to reveal the true nature and rich texture of Marx's thought, the author has assembled Marx's own formulations, scattered throughout his numerous works and buried beneath mountains of commentary and criticism. The book provides a faithful record of the complete evolutionary progress of Marx's theory.

Table of Contents:
Preface Marx's Revolution in Wage Theory The Treatment of Wages in the Period Before Adam Smith Wage Theory in Classical Political Economy Ascendancy of the Wage-Fund Doctrine Criticism of the Wage-Fund Doctrine Radical and Early Socialist Critics of Political Economy Marx's Early Writings on Wages The Grundrisse and the Economic Manuscript of 1861-63 Value, Price and Profit Capital Is There a "Missing Book" on Wage Labor? The "Increasing Misery" Debate Select Bibliography Index

About the Author :
KENNETH LAPIDES is an independent researcher and freelance writer. He is the editor of Marx and Engels on the Trade Unions (Praeger, 1987).

Review :
.,."the first-ever full, consolidated statement of Marx's wage theory....Kenneth Lapides's book makes an outstanding contribution....read this book....a boon for unfolding labor and community struggles."-Labor Studies Journal .,."Lapides has done a commendable job in bringing together a vast array of material on the subject under one cover. Any student of the subject will greatly benefit from acquanting him/herself with this book early on."-Review of Radical Political Economics "This book under-takes that task both meticulously and clearly. It thus becomes an important contribution to the history of economic thought....Lapides' book is a major contribution to the history of economic thought....All these approaches are analyzzed with detailed documentation from original sources....[e]very other reader will enjoy similar understanding from different parts of the work. Therefore this is a book to be read and to be savored. It traces the development of one aspect of Marx's economic analysis, whilst, in so doing, it illuminate many contemporary economic problems."-Labor History ?...the first-ever full, consolidated statement of Marx's wage theory....Kenneth Lapides's book makes an outstanding contribution....read this book....a boon for unfolding labor and community struggles.?-Labor Studies Journal ?...Lapides has done a commendable job in bringing together a vast array of material on the subject under one cover. Any student of the subject will greatly benefit from acquanting him/herself with this book early on.?-Review of Radical Political Economics ?Kenneth Lapides's book addresses itself to Marx's wage theory, and, as a measure of its success, it both enhances our understanding of the core elements of Marx's economic theory, and facilitates the appropriate situating of Marx in the pantheon of economic theorists.?-Labour/Le Travail ?Lapide's book is a major contribution to the history of economic thought. It covers long-forgotten ground, by providing a comprehensive account of the initial phase of wage theory, of the essentials of the wage-fund doctrine and of its critiques, both from within the political economy and from external radical sources. All these approahces are analyzed with detailed documentation from original sources. This reviewer gained particular insights from the detailed survey of the Ricardian Socialists, yet every other reader will enjoy similar understandings from different parts of the work. Therefore this is a book to be read and to be savored. It traces the development of one aspect of Marx's economic analysis, whilst, in so doing, it illuminates many contemporary economic problems.?-Labor History ?This book under-takes that task both meticulously and clearly. It thus becomes an important contribution to the history of economic thought....Lapides' book is a major contribution to the history of economic thought....All these approaches are analyzzed with detailed documentation from original sources....[e]very other reader will enjoy similar understanding from different parts of the work. Therefore this is a book to be read and to be savored. It traces the development of one aspect of Marx's economic analysis, whilst, in so doing, it illuminate many contemporary economic problems.?-Labor History ..."the first-ever full, consolidated statement of Marx's wage theory....Kenneth Lapides's book makes an outstanding contribution....read this book....a boon for unfolding labor and community struggles."-Labor Studies Journal ..."Lapides has done a commendable job in bringing together a vast array of material on the subject under one cover. Any student of the subject will greatly benefit from acquanting him/herself with this book early on."-Review of Radical Political Economics "Kenneth Lapides's book addresses itself to Marx's wage theory, and, as a measure of its success, it both enhances our understanding of the core elements of Marx's economic theory, and facilitates the appropriate situating of Marx in the pantheon of economic theorists."-Labour/Le Travail "Lapide's book is a major contribution to the history of economic thought. It covers long-forgotten ground, by providing a comprehensive account of the initial phase of wage theory, of the essentials of the wage-fund doctrine and of its critiques, both from within the political economy and from external radical sources. All these approahces are analyzed with detailed documentation from original sources. This reviewer gained particular insights from the detailed survey of the Ricardian Socialists, yet every other reader will enjoy similar understandings from different parts of the work. Therefore this is a book to be read and to be savored. It traces the development of one aspect of Marx's economic analysis, whilst, in so doing, it illuminates many contemporary economic problems."-Labor History