Laws of Chaos: Probabilistic Approach to Political Economy

Description

In this unusual study, Farjoun and Machover attempt to do nothing less than rebuild two central concepts of political economy: price and profit. Using a probabilistic-statistical approach, they redefine both of these notions and then proceed to a discussion of relations between 'labour value', price and profit. Theories of probability and statistics are, of course, well-established in all natural and population scienoes, but with one or two notable exceptions, have been largely ovePlooked uy political economists. By treating the capitalist economy as 'a large and disorderly collection of moving objects', Farjoun and Machover succeed in resolving many of the contradictions that arise between the rigidity of certain analytical schemas and the wealth of empirical observation supporting them. Laws of Chaos is a challenging, innovative work , signalling a marked departure from the duality of Marxist and Sraffian approaches.