نظریه عمومی استثمار و طبقه

John Roemer is Elizabeth S. and A. Varick Stout Professor of Political Science and Economics, Yale University. How can exploitation and even class division occur in socialist societies? The question is not merely embarrassing for Marxists and socialists. It is also a deep puzzle for economic theorists. In this original and powerful work, John Roemer proposes a general theory of exploitation which provides a game theoretic framework for expressing any conception of exploitation—feudal, capitalist, or socialist—in a standardized and explicit way, thus permitting a clear comparison of different ethical conceptions. As well as applying the general theory to an analysis of socialist society, Roemer uses it to contrast Marxian and neoclassical conceptions of exploitation. By placing the Marxian conception of exploitation in the context of a more general theory, Roemer provides fresh insights into classical questions, and resolves several old problems in Marxian economics. The book also contains a formal theory of class formation. Once the behavior and institutional specifications of an economy are given, classes emerge endogenously in the model. In a major theorem Roemer relates the two key characteristics of a person in a given economy: his class position and his status as exploiter or exploited. Finally, he shows that the general theory of exploitation can be viewed as the formal translation into economic language of the theory of historical materialism. In its mathematical power and precision, its skillful use of general equilibrium and game theory, the book will become an important bridge between Marxist and neoclassical economics. “Roemer’s is a major contribution to Marxian economic theory. It presents an analysis that is at once classical and modern, answering both old questions and new ones. It is delightfully controversial and deeply innovative.” “There is no doubt that Roemer has produced an excellent book. His central question is whether classical Marxism has prepared us to expect what we see in existing socialist countries. Roemer believes not, and ’the consequence is a theoretical disarray of modern Marxism in attempting to explain the laws of motion of socialism.’ The book is divided into three parts that deal respectively with exploitation and class in subsistence economies, accumulating economies, and socialist economies. Building on elegant and beautifully precise models of exploitation and class, the author integrates notions of class and status, socialist exploitation, and notions of justice to analyze the abstract workings of socialism…Highly recommended.” “A landmark in the development of economic theory…[This book] takes a long, hard look at some classical concepts in Marxism and, in doing so, transforms them completely…[Roemer] uses the analytical tools of neo-classical economics to undermine its normative and sociological assumptions. Instead of firms and households, Roemer offers us classes; instead of the `social welfare function’ he proposes exploitation as the criterion of justice. His book, in my opinion, is a step towards realism without loss of vigour.”